The Sin of Witchcraft
by madamwolf
Summary: Carson gets accused of crimes he didn't commit off world, now he had to pay the price, or can his friends free him in time? Carson whump. A little whump to our other three guys cause its just fun. no slash. friendship.
1. A Doctor

**AN: **Haha, I finally got it up, didn't think I would did ya? Well that was just a little side note for those who read my other story, for those of you who're new to my SGA fics, howdy! The series may be over but my fics will not be. Besides, we can all look forward to the movie, and the new Stargate series.

**Disclaimer: **Wow... if I owned the show… well we can all dream can't we? Don't own it, never will.

**Warning: **WHUMP! Major Carson whump in this story. Whump for some others too but mainly Carson cause I just love it. If you don't like to see your favorite characters hurt leave now.

A Doctor?

Carson trudged stubbornly through the thick forest; once again he had been dragged out of his infirmary and off world. From what John described to him they found a village, primitive to the level that they could barley treat a cold which Carson had to remind John there was no cure for. They said the heir to the village has fallen ill with a disease their people have rarely survived from. To Carson it sounded like meningitis, so he loaded his case with the necessary treatments and a few others in case he was wrong.

"Rodney," Carson began as he followed the scientist back to the village which seemed considerably further away then what he had in mind. "Exactly how much further?"

"I don't know, Carson," Rodney said exasperatedly. "We couldn't get too close because of the tree coverage and because we don't want to scare these people. They are primitive and if a jumper suddenly landed in their village they might, for lack of better word, freak out." They arrived by stargate but the people here built their village as far away from the strange technology as possible. They learned of the people here by Teyla who didn't know too much about them, only that the village was far and they were very secluded. They took the jumper to cover some of the mass distance, they got about halfway before they put down.

"That's actually two words." Carson corrected.

"Not if you hyphen it."

"Did ya hyphen it?"

A pause. "Yes."

The doctor chuckled as they climbed over a thick fallen tree and Rodney's headset went off. "Hey, Rodney, you back with the Doc yet?"

"Yeah," Rodney said as he struggled over the large trunk. "He's here, we're at that stupid tree."

"So you're not far?" John tried to clarify.

"No, not far."

He heard him sigh heavily. "Good, the people here are freakin' crazy I wanna get outta here, but now that Carson knows about the sick guy I don't think that's likely, is it?"

"No, probably not." Rodney said glancing back to Carson who was getting over the log with more ease then he did, it made making him sneer slightly.

"In that case we'll meet you on the outskirts of the village in about ten minutes, Sheppard out."

"Alright," Rodney said and turned back to Carson. "We'll be there soon, we're meeting the team outside the village so we can talk."

"What's there ta talk about?"

"How crazy they are." Rodney mumbled.

Soon the pair reached a thin stream and began to follow it, Rodney knew the water lead directly into the village so they would be there within minutes now. Sure enough after about three minutes of following the stream they saw the three familiar faces of John, Ronon and Teyla.

"Oh finally," he heard Carson mutter from behind him.

"Good to see ya, Doc," John greeted meeting them halfway.

"Likewise," he grinned as Ronon stepped forward and took the large cases from him as if they were light as a feather. "Thank you, lad."

"Alright, I'm gonna be upfront with you upfront, Doc," John said in a low voice just in case the locals were near. "They haven't even figured out how to make gunpowder yet. They have fire, that's about it. So ya know, don't get to technical with them, when we told them what we were holding guns, which we had to explain what that was, they laughed and didn't believe us until we gave them a presentation."

"Then they took them." Ronon grumbled, obviously not happy with being parted from his weapon.

"Well a lot of places do that," John argued. "We'll get them back when we leave. I wish we could leave now…"

"It is not right for us to abandon these people simply because they are not as technologically advanced as we are." Teyla interjected, always the sensible one. "They have a right to be healed just as much as any other civilization we've come across."

"Well some of the civilizations we've come across were pretty nasty." John mumbled.

"I think I understand, John." Carson said holding up his hand. "Now how about I go cure this lad before he gets much worse, dependin' on how far his condition is advanced I'm not sure there's much I can do for him without takin' him back to Atlantis, I take it they don't have a medical doctor here?"

"Oh no," Rodney laughed. "No, they have a spiritual healer." He said with air quotes.

"It is not right to ridicule their beliefs." Teyla scolded as they entered the village.

Rodney grumbled, kicking at the dirt as they approached a man standing before them in white robes with equally white hair and a potbelly. Carson got the hint right away he was the elder of the village, or the ruler, or king, or whatever he called himself. The man looked him up and down with disapproval evident in his face, he didn't smile when Carson did in greeting he just stared.

"Welcome to Corinis," he said in a deep commanding voice. "I am Tnuk, the leader of our noble town, I am told you possess certain healing properties unknown to our kind that could make my son well again."

"Well," Carson began. "I hope I do, then maybe I can help the young, lad."

He raised an eyebrow at the manor of his speech but didn't say anything. "I will show you to our healer, Irion's, hut, you can arrange yourself with him."

"Thank ya." Carson said allowing himself to be lead to the building that wasn't exactly a hut, it was made from rock heavy rock and looked ot be two stories but he couldn't be sure. The door was made of solid wood, and the lock was something the group had never seen before.

The second Carson walked in he was met face to face with a short balding man who kept his hands folded in front of him. He had a straight back and though he didn't quite reach Carson's height the glint in his eye let Carson know he was not a force to be trifled with. "Hello," he said with a friendly tone none the less. "I'm Dr. Carson Beckett." He greeted as the rest of the team entered in behind him, Ronon putting down the cases on a stand nearby.

"Ah, yes, the thing you call doctor. Sounds an awful lot like witchcraft to me." He sneered.

"Oh, I assure ye, it's anythin' but. I could show ye some of my methods as I treat the lad. Speakin' o' which, where is he? I'd like ta get started right away if ya don't mind. Time is critical."

"He boy is in the last bed, we did not want his demonic auras infecting the others." The spiritual man said in monotone glowering at Carson, he was obviously not happy with him interfearing.

As the team watched Carson disappear into the back of the building with Irion staying close behind him, a couple of them moved to follow him but they were stopped by Tnuk. "Let them be, they are both men of healing, they have much in common to discuss."

John raised an eyebrow and murmured to himself. "I don't those two have much in common."

"Did you hear that about witchcraft?" Rodney asked them quietly as they left the building. "You don't think… seriously?"

"I was on a planet like this once," Ronon said keeping his eye glued to Tnuk. "They depend on the Gods to heal the sick, I think that's what that guy in there is, supposed to be some sort of medium." The group had only been there a few hours before they called Carson in, Ronon or Teyla hadn't put it together what sort of people they were.

"Well," John said swallowing a lump in his throat. "Carson can be a religious man."

"Not like this." Ronon grunted.

"Should we not be helping?" Teyla asked. "I was not aware their religious beliefs went this far, perhaps maybe Carson's medical knowledge would offend them?"

Rodney shook his head. "Probably but Carson won't leave now, if he thinks he can or has even the slightest hunch he can fix the problem whether it be meningitis or not, he'll do it and he's not leaving until he can. Unless, of course, all hope is lost."

"We'll see what happens," John murmured keeping his eye on Tnuk to make sure he didn't overhear them from where he stood ahead of them. "If things start going downhill we'll get the heck outta here and head back to the jumper."

"We have arranged this room for you." Tnuk said ending their conversation as he motioned to another building. "I hope it is to your liking, my apologies we can not supply you with more."

"Oh no," Teyla said with a smile. "It is wonderful; we thank you for your hospitality."

"You are a sweet child." He said with a shadow of a smile. "I will leave you to your quarters; night will be coming upon us soon which means dinner will begin. I pray you will all be joining us in the palace, you are, after all, our guests."

"Sure." John said with a half smile.

"I will have someone come and fetch you when it is time." He said before tuning sharply on his heel and leaving.

The group walked into their new home for the next night or so and looked around. It was plain, there were five beds made up for them, presumably one more Carson when he returned from the healers quarters. There were a couple chests in the room, probably to hold spare blankets or personal items of whoever stayed in the room. A fireplace sat on one of the walls with a small box beside it, they assumed they were matches

"Cozy." Rodney commented collapsing down on one of the beds. "So, tomorrow, we're leaving right?"

John gave him a sideways glance as he stood in the center of the room. "Hopefully, if the Doc can show these people how to treat that boy."

"And if he can't?" Ronon asked.

"Then we'll take it from there, jeez, what's with you guys."

Ronon gave a halfhearted shrug and peeked out one of the windows as if expecting someone to pop out and attack them. "I don't like this place."

"I'm gonna have to agree with, Caveman." Rodney said with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head. "A little creepy here, and doing this job I've seen my fair share of creepy places."

"What would you say is so… creepy about it?" Teyla asked sitting down, she knew the term but they used it many times in various situations.

Rodney shrugged. "I dunno, hard to explain." He said but didn't elaborate any further.

Teyla raised an eyebrow but remained silent, in fact they all remained silent. Something was bothering them, they couldn't quite tell what it was but something about this place just didn't seem right.


	2. The Devil in Him

**AN:** I'd just like to apologize for the state the previous chapter was in (and still kinda is in, it should be rewritten) but I promised to get it out and writers block attacked me and I tried to write through it. Now, anyone who has ever had writers block real bad to the point where anything you write is just awful you know not to write at this time and try again in the morning or a couple days later, but I tried anyway and as you can see the result was not pretty. I went through it and tried to fix some it so it's more presentable, those of you who might be familiar with my work know my writing is usually not that bad, it's not perfect but it's not that bad.

Whew, now that that's out of the way thank you for the reviews and telling me how bad that last chapter really was. I reread it and nearly had a heart attack, wow I am never forcing out chapters like that again… wow.

The Devil in Him

Carson trudged over to the room the natives had given them for their time here in a daze. It was late, hours had passed since dinner and he had been staying with the boy monitoring his progress ever since. Seeing as he didn't have is full equipment with him he was almost frightened to leave his side in case his conditioned worsened.

When the moon was high in the sky and the stars were the only light, the village leader had arrived in the healers place to check on his son and his condition. When he found Carson there still hovering over the young boy he placed a hand on his shoulder and gently relieved him from his duties. He said he would watch over his son until morning and if something did happen he would send someone to alert him, but for now, Carson needed his rest.

He thanked Tnuk and left, wrapping his jacket tight around him, he hadn't realized how cold it was when he was in the building. He wished he bought a heavier coat. As he walked through the streets he failed to notice the man in the shadows watching his every move, following him from behind the homes and in the alley ways. The only hint that he was there were the whites of his eyes reflecting the moonlight in the darkness in almost an animalistic way. If Carson had noticed there was no doubt he would now be running to his room and regretting his pistol being taken away, so far these people had been nothing but kind to him, he had no reason to be hostile when they asked for his weapon.

Carson pushed open the door to the room, the hinges on the door let out a low squeak and he winced when he saw the team was asleep, he didn't want to wake them. However he realized that wish was in vain when he managed to trip over a backpack and fall face first on the ground on his way to the only empty bed left.

Before he knew it there were two people standing over him looking ready to kill, one was John and the other Ronon. Rodney was currently flipping around in the bed trying to detangle himself from the sheets and Teyla was standing at the ready but quickly realized who it was and calmed her nerves.

"It's just me." Carson quickly said raising his hands a little in reflex.

"Jeez, Doc." John said collapsing back on the back behind him.

Teyla bent over to light the fireplace as she rubbed her eye sleepily with her other hand. "Carson, it is late. Are you only returning now?"

"Aye." He said getting up and rubbing his head with his hand, he was sure he would have a bruise there by morning. "I was monitorin' the young lad, I gave him the treatment and by the looks o' things Irion isn't gonna be helpin' me out none. He seems completely against everythin' I'm doin'."

"You must give him time Carson." Teyla said stepping over to his bed and sitting down beside him so she could get a better look at the bruise on his head. "This is all new to them, even some of your healing abilities and customs continue to shock me after all this time." She smiled gently.

"If they're not going to accept help," Rodney said now that he was free from the sheets. "I say why bother?"

"Because it's the right thing ta do." Carson said. "Just because you lack a soul doesn't mean we all do."

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to side with Rodney on this one." John said reluctantly pulling himself back up on the bed. "These people might not want to accept our help if it's too different from their own and so far, from what I've seen, it's a lot different."

Carson gazed at his teammates and saw they all obviously agreed, even Teyla, though reluctantly it seemed. "A'right, if that's how ya all feel you can go home tomorrow, I'll stay and make sure the lad gets better, when I'm done I'll give ye a call and you can come and get me."

"Oh no, no, no, no, no." Rodney said shaking his head. "You are not staying here alone, I don't care what happens we're either staying here with you or you're coming back with us."

"I'm not a babe, I can take care o' meself."

"You are a baby!" Rodney cried surprising the entire room, when he noticed their shcked gazes he attempted to explain himself in vain. "You're Carson!"

"Which automatically makes me a baby?"

"Yes!"

"Look, Doc." Ronon said sitting forward. "You have to admit, the people here are pretty weird – "

He nodded slowly, he had noticed something, but he figured it was just the matter of being on a foreign planet dealing with foreign people. "I realize that but they need help, I'd like ta stop this before it becomes an epidemic for them."

"Well we're not leaving you here," Rodney cried. "Are you crazy?"

"Look, we'll stay a couple more days." John sighed, it was late, he was tired, and he really didn't want to start up a whole big argument about this. "Tomorrow I'll contact Elizabeth and tell her that's going on, but remember, she might want to back to Atlantis."

"Oh," Carson waved it off. "They can go without me for a few days."

"I don't know," Ronon grunted with a tiny grin. "You always seemed to be busy."

"The only reason I was busy was because you four always seem ta get into trouble." Carson smirked clumsily untying his boots and kicking them off. "Now if ya don't mind, I think I'm gonna turn in for the night. I've had a long day and I could use the rest."

"I think that is a good idea, Carson." Teyla agreed as she laid down upon her own bed after smothering the fire so all that was left were some hot coals.

There was a silence that spread over them for the next several minutes as the team got settled in their beds. Just as everyone was getting to sleep John decided it was a good idea to speak up. "Goodnight." He said with the intent to annoy.

"Shut up." Rodney drooled into his pillow.

Elsewhere in the town Tnuk sat by his son's side, gently stroking his hair as he slept. Behind him the disgruntled healer walked up to him, pulling his dark cloak off and draping it over the back of a chair. He stood behind him for several moments before moving around to face his leader.

"I do not trust these newcomers." He hissed.

"They have come to aid us in our time of need, we should thank the Gods we have such luck." Tnuk said.

"They have not," he growled sitting down across from his leader with narrowed eyes. "They have come to poison our good town with their lies and witchery."

Tnuk lifted his blue eyes from his son's young features with a furrowed brow. "What do you mean?"

He shifted his eyes around to be sure no one was watching in his paranoia and leaned forward. "I saw the one they call the Doctor, he did something to your son. I saw him, he means to murder him."

Tnuk blinked a few times and glanced down at the boy once more. "I am sure you have been mistaken, I spoke to the newcomers myself, they are good people. In fact if you remember the woman has been here before, however briefly. She arrived with her people with interest of trading, they left shortly."

"And why do you think they left shortly? They only came to discover what our weaknesses were and then they left to spread the word."

"My son was only a child at the time."

"Exactly," he cried out through clenched teeth. "Look here," he removed the blanket fro the boy and pulled out his arm pointing to the small puncture mark on the inside of his forearm. "The Doctor did something, you can see the evidence of it right here. He created a potion and injected it into him. No doubt his condition will worsen."

"Are if you are wrong? If you miss-saw him and he was not conducting a potion?" He asked though his voice was shaking with doubt.

"I did not, I guarantee you, sir, if your son does not die he will regain his strength but it will be the strength given to him by a witch, he will be risen from the grave and have the devil inside of him. I have seen such things before the children become evil. Your son is no longer your own, the Gods wished to claim him as their own, that is why he got sick and that is why he did not heal when I prayed for him."

Tnuk remained silent and looked down at his son, tears threatening to leak from his eyes.

"I have known and cared for you since you were a child. Do you not trust me with your life? With your sons? Believe me when I say this that man has the devil in him, why do you think he speaks strangely from the others? He has done something and I would advise you to take care of it before he causes any more damage."

His eyes fell once more and he allowed a long breath to escape his lips, he had much to think about.


	3. Accused

**AN:** I'm a bit delayed with this chapter, honesty time flew by just like that! I was all oh I can wait a couple days before I work on the next chap and then poof it was like over a week later. But it's here now and that's all that matters. Right?

Accused

Carson blinked his eyes open as the morning sun drifted through the window, perfect, he had to pick the bed that blinded him in the morning. If he were a betting man he would have said Rodney calculated where the sun would rise and which bed it would hit. He tried to evade the shinning light for a couple minutes by covering his face with the thin blanket or stuffing his face in his pillow but inevitably he woke up.

Throwing the blankets off him he realized what was really waking him up, it wasn't the sunlight from the window, naturally it would be hitting his pack but the mirror being held in its beam was redirecting it. Carson sat up and blocked the light with his hand and glared at the perpetrator, or perpetrators rather. Rodney was holding the mirror but behind him stood both John and Ronon grinning like idiots.

Carson looked around at them with a loss for words. "What do ya think you're doin'?" He asked them pushing the blankets off himself the rest of the way.

"It's time for breakfast," John began to explain. "We didn't think we should leave you here to sleep the meal away, you look like you could have a good… whatever they serve here."

"What time is it?" He asked rubbing his eyes.

"A little past seven," Rodney explained.

"Teyla?" He asked looked for the young woman.

Ronon scoffed. "She woke up hours ago; she's meditating now I think."

Carson nodded. "Of course she is," he groaned lifting himself up off the bed. "I'll be with ye in a moment, lads." He said waving them off as he fumbled around his things to prepare himself for the day.

"Sure thing, Doc, take your time." John said clasping him on the shoulder as she passed by him for the door.

"Not too long," he heard Rodney say as they left.

Carson smirked as he began to ready himself for the upcoming day, he had hoped that before breakfast he could go and check on his young patient but it didn't look like he would be able too. If they woke him up it must have meant breakfast was just around the corner and once he went to check on the boy he knew he would be bound their for some time.

When he deemed himself fully prepared he headed for the doorway and walked out to see his friends waiting idly by the road speaking amongst themselves. He inhaled the crisp morning air and walked over to them with a small smile.

"Well, are we ready ta go then?" He asked.

"Sure thing, Doc," John said and began to lead the way over to the mess hall, well at least that's what they called the mess hall, they didn't know what the natives call it but they ate there so therefore it was a mess hall. "Teyla said this morning she would meet us there, before she was meditating she was getting pretty chummy with some of the people."

"Is that so?" Carson asked raising an eyebrow. "Chummy how? I dare say that can be interpreted in several ways."

"Apparently," Rodney said walking along with his hands in his pockets. "They all share some similar meditation methods; I think she's with a few of them now."

"So ya trust her ta be off on her own but not me?" He inquired with an arched brow.

Rodney shrugged. "But she's Teyla, she's not you, off world you have a tendency to be a magnet for trouble, and on Atlantis now that I think about it."

He rolled his eyes. "I think you lot have gotten in far more trouble then me."

"Well we're highly trained trouble makers, Carson," John said with a smug grin. "You on the other hand are not meaning you shouldn't find it so easily. It's actually quite impressive for someone who hasn't had the proper training."

"A'right I get your point, but still I think I can handle myself."

"And it's that think that makes us not so sure, Doc." Ronon grunted as they walked up the pathway that lead into the large mess hall, it was a mirror image of all the other buildings except it was just quite longer in length and a little bit wider.

When they opened the wide doors and entered the place was already bustling with people who looked like they had been awake for hours. They quickly spotted Teyla and walked over to her, she was chatting it up with several of the people with a smile on her face and there's.

"Teyla," John greeted once they were close enough for her to hear them.

"John," she smiled. "How lovely too see you, I am glad you were able to make it, most of the food is gone."

Rodney grumbled. "See I knew it," he said as he sat down and picked at some of the remaining fruits and vegetables on the table. "This doesn't have citrus in it, does it?" he asked holding up a foreign fruit to Carson.

The Scot shrugged. "How should I know?"

"You're a doctor."

"So are you."

"Not that kind of doctor."

"Oh, on the contrary, Rodney, I think you're the perfect doctor for the job. You're guess is better then mine, you're a bloody scientist."

He glared for a moment and popped the fruit in his mouth and through his full mouth spoke. "Well in case I end up dying I hope you know it'll all be your fault." That's what Carson guessed he said anyway, with all the food in his mouth he couldn't understand him all too well.

"Learn some manners," Carson mumbled. "At this point you're even worse then Ronon."

Ronon looked up from eying the food suspiciously. "What?"

"No offense, lad." Carson quickly covered and reached out for something that looked like an apple.

"So what exactly is this?" John said picking up a fruit that appeared to be something like an over sized cherry.

"A kartel," the woman who was sitting across from him helpful provided, he recognized her as one of the people who were getting friendly with Teyla, she was a smallish woman with long brown hair. She didn't look like any sort of threat, but then again if you didn't know Teyla she could appear not to be a threat.

John stared at it for a moment. "Okay, thanks," he said before biting into it and then wincing. "I guess you peel this first?"

She smiled sympathetically and nodded.

"Yeah," he said and began to pick the skin off with his thumb nail.

"My apologies for not making the proper introductions, this is Melia, she cares for the children of the village." Teyla said motioning to the woman sitting across from her. "These are my friends, Carson, Rodney, Ronon and…"

"I'm John," he said with a smile.

"This is John," she repeated with a small smirk she should have known by now he always jumped in and introduced himself at some point.

"So you're what, like, a teacher or daycare person?"

She shook her head. "I am not yet old enough to be one to give the knowledge," she explained. "I am still in the stages of learning myself and here when you are one as young as I we are not permitted to teach others, I merely watch the children while their parents are away in the fields or in the shops tending to their daily duties."

They found this surprising since she appeared to be in her late twenties if not early thirties, how old did you have to be to become a teacher of children?

"So, that must be fun, ya like children, lass?" Carson asked taking a bit of something that held qualities of an apple.

"Oh indeed, I love the children," she smiled, she seemed very enthusiastic about what she did and that was always desired when you worked. "I believe I am one of the luckier ones, I truly enjoy my time with them, and you? I have heard rumors but I'm afraid I am not quite sure of your duties."

"Oh well, I'm a doctor which probably doesn't mean much ta ya now that I think about it. I treat the ill and make them well again, whether it's a disease or a broken limb."

"Such as our healer?" She inquired curiously.

He gave a half nod. "We have similar jobs but we go about them in very different ways."

She seemed confused on how else you could go about healing the sick other then how their healer did but she brushed it away and looked down to her plate. "How is Rulin? I cared for him when he was a bit younger, at this point in his life he is able to look after himself but I still worry."

So that was the boy's name, Carson thought, no one had yet told him. "He's doin' well, hopefully I have him on the mend, if everythin' goes accordin' ta plan I can give instructions ta your healer and he can take the job over once I've done all I can. I can't stay here forever so I fear I won't be able to see him up and about again before I leave."

"Oh this is sad," she sympathized. "But if you have duties elsewhere I am grateful you took the time to come and visit us."

"Just doin' my job, lass."

John watched the two make conversation, she seemed quite taken with Carson, a lot of girls did, it must be the accent he thought. A small pang of jealously hit him but it was easily brushed off, the Doc needed some fun every now and John did have a reputation for snagging all the off world women, unconsciously of course.

In a few minutes everyone began to stand from their seats and clean their areas. A little awkwardly the team followed suit, they were helped by Melia who showed them where they were to put their garbage, she then lead them outside.

"I must go now, I have to go to my home and meet the children, and their parents should be stopping by any moment now. Teyla, you mentioned you would like to accompany me to see the children?" She asked.

"Yes, I would like that, if it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all, I could use some help with them sometimes."

Teyla laughed and turned back to the team. "I will meet up with you in a little while." She assured and began to walk off with her new friend.

"So Carson," Rodney prodded as they walked him back to Irion's healers 'hut' after waving Teyla off. "Making new friends, huh?"

Carson arched an eyebrow. "Now, Rodney, I don't think she has any o' that on her mind. She was just a sweet young girl who volunteered ta help."

He shrugged. "I didn't say anything like that."

"Neither did I."

"Come on, you two," John broke them up. "Leave the Doc and his girlfriend alone."

"She is not my girlfriend," Carson protested.

"Of course she's not," Ronon interjected with a smirk. "We believe you."

They could see the healing house a little ways down the road, there were several guards clad in breast plates and sheathed swords standing in the doorway. There were always guards there since the boy was the son of the village leader but now there were many more then usual. They all exchanged a look and picked up their pace wondering what could have happened to require so many guards.

Carson's mind began to drift to the boy Rulin, maybe something had happened to him. The closer they go though the more they realized that probably wasn't the case, even though that lifted a weight off their shoulders they still wondered what could have happened.

"What's goin' on?" Carson asked when they got close enough gathering the guard's attention.

"There his is." One of them said and motioned with his hand. "Subdue him."

Two men walked forward and went to garb Carson but before they were able to Ronon jumped into action and attacked them. They were an easy match for him and knocked them out within seconds but the others came with their swords unsheathed and blazing, he was able to evade them for a bit but with some yelling from John and a blade to his neck he stopped.

"Hey!" John yelled again trying to make the madness around him settle now. Ronon eventually got stopped when he was forced to stand still by two points of a sword but that meant the other men had the opportunity to put Carson in a set of shackles. "Stop it!" John yelled fighting the urge to begin throwing punches himself. "Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"I can answer that," Irion said all too calmly stepping out of his home. "You see I'm afraid I caught this… doctor of yours conducting some potions and forcefully injecting them in the boy. It is to my understanding that concoctions such as that is witchcraft. In fact I have been looking around in his things and I found many items of witchery in his possession. I'm afraid that is not allowed."

"No, you're mistaken," Carson said in a panic as he struggled against his bonds. "Its medical supplies that's all it is," he was quickly cut off.

"What you call this medicine," he spat the word. "We call poison, you hurt the boy and in my understanding you have made his condition worse. You have bewitched him that is why he was ill in the first place, it is you who put this evil spell on him that is why the Gods were not able to intervene and cure him. We do not tolerate witches in our village."

"Has he actually gotten worse?" Rodney cried out. "You can't expect him to get better overnight that's insane!"

"He claimed he would heal the boy, if he truly was a healer he would be healed by now. The Gods do not require more then a mere few hours to heal the sick."

"Oh yeah, right," Rodney scoffed. "When was the last time these Gods of yours healed someone overnight?"

"If you continue to question the ways of our Gods I will be forced to arrest you as well."

"Look how about this," John said holding his hands up and stepping in front of Rodney. "We take Carson and we leave, with Ronon too!" He added. "You'll never see us again. We promise, just let us get our stuff find Teyla and we'll never bother you again."

"That request is laughable, the witch has already angered the Gods by his actions and he must pay the ultimate sacrifice for it."

Ronon glared. "What's the ultimate sacrifice?"

The healer narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Death."


	4. Prison Cell

**AN:** I'm sorry I know updates have been slow and they'll probably get slower over the next two months but I was cast in three shows, a musical for college and two I get paid for so I have rehearsals up the wazoo and then there's school so, ya know. But by the time May rolls around updates will be quicker, though I'm not actually planning for this story to take more then two months to write…

Prison Cell

John shook his head. Carson wouldn't die at the hands of these people for something he didn't even do. They had gotten out of death situations before and it looked like they'd have to do it again. "No, no, there was no witchcraft. Look, we can explain everything that happened it wasn't what you think. "

"You can not explain witchery." Irion growled.

Rodney was beginning to loose his temper. "This ridiculous, are you that resistant to change you can't accept anyone different then you? For God sake he was trying to help, let him go!"

"Enough of this," Irion said. "You two are free to go with your female you have done nothing to us that warrants punishment."

"Ronon too?" John asked. "What did he do?"

Irion looked surprised. "He has assaulted the guards, he must be jailed, and we will free him once his punishment has run its course. Now, take them to the prison."

The guards took the two bound men away down one of the paths, John and Rodney watching helplessly. John wanted to fight and get them back but Teyla wasn't here and he had to get a message back to Atlantis and tell Elizabeth what was going on. So as they passed by his he leaned as close as he dared to them.

"Were getting you out of this."

"I know ye are, lad." Carson winced as they twisted his arms behind his back. Ronon gave a stiff nod.

"What happened to Tnuk?" Rodney asked stepping forward to the evil man. "I thought he was ruler of this place? Doesn't he get a say in what's going on?"

Irion grinned and narrowed his eyes at Rodney. "Tnuk may be the ruler of this village but I am the healer, I am the closest one to the Gods for miles around. I speak to them in my meditation. I am their portal to our soil. If the Gods are offended, I am the one who deals with the perpetrator."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Only problem there is no perpetrator there are no Gods that were offended –"

John quickly dashed forward and clasped his handover Rodney's mouth, if he kept talking there was a good chance he would get jailed as well. "Okay, look we'll go, just let us go to the room and we can get our things find Teyla and we'll be on our way."

Rodney glared at him as he led him away from the group of people, once they were far enough away John removed his hand and Rodney exploded. He stormed off a few feet away before turning back to face him in a rage. "What the hell was that?! We're just gonna leave Carson and Ronon here at the mercy of those idiots?"

John shook his head and tried to calm the scientist down. "No, no, Rodney, listen to me. Rodney!" He cried out to get his attention and once he had it he let out a deep breath. "Good, now, think about it, would I really leave them here?"

Rodney sighed and nodded his head.

"Of course not, don't be stupid. We're going to find Teyla and get in contact with Elizabeth tell her what's going on and then we're going to get them out."

"With what weapons? They took our guns and I don't see us getting them back."

John agreed. "You're right, but fortunately I was smart enough to watch where they went with them. I know where they are and now all we have to do is go get them, at night time probably, their defenses go down greatly at night. They don't have many enemies they aren't properly trained for an ambush of any kind."

Rodney nodded again. "Alright, so we have to wait until nightfall then?"

"Yeah, but first I think we should find Teyla."

"Probably the smart thing to do," Rodney said and the pair went off to find Teyla and then go back to their room to make it look like they were leaving.

Carson and Ronon were pushed into a building they wouldn't think was a prison at first glance. The only thing that differed it from the others were the guards posted outside and even then there weren't many, the two assumed they didn't get too many prisoners.

They were shoved down a flight of stairs and the area became more and more like a prison. The walls were stone and the rustic log cabin feeling everything had was completely gone. It was dark and the only light they had was from the torches that lined the walls around them creating and eerie shadowy look.

Finally they arrived down a hall where one of the guards opened two cells on opposite sides of one another. Carson was thrown into the one where he landed hard on his side and Ronon into the other, being a large man he didn't fall when he was thrown he just wavered on his feet.

The men locked the doors on them and walked away without another word. Carson got the distinct feeling they weren't as welcome in his village as they were just yesterday. He got up, rubbing his back and side from the fall and approached the bars. Ronon was already across the hall leaning against his own prison bars.

"You okay, Doc?" He asked seeing his discomfort.

Carson waved it off. "I'll be fine, lad, don't worry about me."

Ronon nodded and looked around. "You know, I think this happens to us far more then anyone else on Atlantis."

Despite everything Carson huffed out a laugh. "Ya know, I think ya might be right on that one."

Ronon backed away from the bars and began to survey the surrounding area looking for a weak spot in the cell. Carson watched from across the hall, what did Ronon think he was looking for? They were surrounded by solid rock, no windows, no cracks, no nothing. Just rock.

Carson knew him too well to know he couldn't stop him from looking for an escape route so he backed away from the bars and slid down the fall wall. There were no benches in the cell or anything, it was just a square room, there wasn't even light, the nearest torch was hanging from the ceiling in the hall, neither of the cells reached it. Even if they did manage to grab hold of it the metal was probably red hot.

He wrapped his arms around himself and became aware of how incredibly cold it was in the room. He let out a long breath and half expected to be able to see it, but he didn't, he figured it was probably around fifty degrees in the room, high fifties tops. Or maybe it was just the feeling he got being in such a cell, it could have been minty degrees in here and he still probably would be shivering.

Ronon must have noticed the shivering because he turned around and looked at him with sympathy. How he wasn't cold too Carson would never know.

"You sure you're okay, Doc?"

Carson gave him a reassuring smile. "Aye, I'm fine."

Ronon gave a curt nod before turning back to his inspection of the cell.

* * *

Teyla sat with the children around her, Melia was across from her with some more. She was in the process of teaching Teyla a game she often played with the children. It was interesting and rather challenging but all the children knew it well so whenever Teyla made a mistake they would laugh.

"You make this seem so easy." Teyla laughed as she watched two of the smaller children go through the motioned of the game flawlessly.

"It's easy once you get the hang of it." Melia assured. "Did you not have games you played when you were children?"

Teyla nodded, "We did but with the constant threat of the Wraith we did not always have time for games."

"It is safe to assume you are speaking of the ones who steal life? Yes, we have had our troubles with them as well, it is why Tnuk has ordered all magic used to be put to death. The Wraith as you call them are the ultimate magic users, with just a simple touch they harm you, and you see how the magic has warped their speech and appearance."

Teyla couldn't help but raise any eyebrow. They believed the Wraith were magic users? To her it seemed ridiculous but these people were free to believe what they wanted.

"Yes," Teyla agreed unsure of what else to say, lucky for her though she saw Rodney and John running toward her and it saved her from having to say anything more. "John, Rodney, it is good to see you. I take it Carson is now with the healer?" She paused and looked around. "Where is Ronon?"

"We have trouble." John said slightly out of breath. "We've been looking all over for you, we need to leave right now and contact Atlantis."

Teyla stood up with worry. "What has happened?"

Rodney pushed forward. "The idiots accused Carson of witchcraft because he gave the kid antibiotics. They arrested him, and because Ronon tried to save him they arrested him too."

Teyla's eyes went wide remember what Melia said about the fate of the magic users. "You mean he is to be put to death."

John raised an eyebrow momentarily wondering how she knew but quickly disregarded it. "Yeah, c'mon we're ordered to leave."

"But we are not, are we?" Teyla wondered quietly

"No." He answered just as softly.

Teyla turned to her newfound friend who seemed to be staring off in a daze. "Melia, is there nothing to be done to save our friend? A loophole, perhaps? They can not do this to him, you must help. You met him you know he is a good man."

She glanced up to them and quickly shook her head as she stood as well. "No, there is nothing to do. Carson has broken our law and by doing so he must be punished. I should have noticed the second I met him that he was not welcome, he talks with a strange dialect, it does not sound like the ultimate magic users but it is different then the norm. I assume the only reason he has not been arrested earlier is because he does not have the pale skin and white hair as they do."

John looked lost. "I missed something."

"The Wraith," Teyla explained. "They believe they use magic. They identify all those who speak differently from them, as the Wraith do, to be magic users as well, anyone who looks different."

Rodney threw his arms up in the air. "Of course they do, I should have known their thick headedness couldn't stop with arresting Carson and Ronon."

Melia wandered off to look after some of the other children. Teyla watched her leave with disbelief, she had believed her to be a level headed person but it seemed she was just as ignorant as the rest of the town.

"We're going to get our packs from tour room and then leave, just a little ways away so we can contact Atlantis without being bothered." John explained in hushed tones as they left the children.

"And then we will come back and free them?" Teyla asked.

He nodded, "We want to get our guns back first though, we could use the firepower. I know where they're being held and it's not heavily guarded."

"Will they not give us them back now that we are leaving as they said they would?" She mused and then after looking at the men around her sighed. "No, I suppose they will not."

Rodney looked over his shoulder in the direction of the prison. He hoped they were okay. He had done reading on those who had been condemned as witches. The Salem Witch Trails for one, there had been torture involved in those trials and some other cultures had horrendous ways of testing if someone as indeed a witch and almost all of them resulted in death. He hoped these people weren't among them.


	5. Test Number One

**AN**: MUHAHAHAHAHA! AND THE WHUMP BEGINS!

Test Number One

Carson shifted in the cell, he had been in here for hours now and Ronon was still pacing across from him like a lion in a cage. It was actually getting a little unnerving, he wanted to tell him to stop and just sit down for a minute but he knew Ronon couldn't do that, he could barley stand still for thirty seconds let alone a full minute. Might as well just let him pace around, it was getting to cold to speak anyways. He was sure that if he tried to speak to him his voice could catch in his throat.

The temperature in the room must have dropped at least seven degrees. His breath was evident in front of his face and he as beginning to shiver all over his body. It was so warm out above ground, why did it have to be so cold down here?

He pulled his knees up closer to his body, he was sure leaning against this stone wall wasn't helping but he had to lean against something. He leaned his forehead against his knees and pulled his arms tighter around his midsection to try and warm himself. It didn't help though, his whole body was feeling frozen, he would have hoped he would get used to the cold but he was having no such luck. Maybe that's how Ronon was keeping warm, he was pacing, his blood was circulating, maybe Carson should try it.

For a second he attempted to stand but he barley moved an inch before he decided it was a bad idea and he should just stay where he was.

"Doc," Ronon grunted from across the prison and Carson's blue eyes peeked up over his knees.

"Aye?" He asked quietly feeling the tremor in his voice from the cold.

Ronon backed away from the bars with a nod. "Just making sure you're still with me."

Carson felt a smirk tug at the corners of his mouth. "Last I checked, that was my job."

Ronon didn't answer, he froze where he stood and snapped his head toward the door on the far side of the hallway that separated their cells. Carson noticed the strange behavior and uncurled himself a little.

"What is it?" He asked quietly but realized the answer when he heard heavy footsteps come closer and closer to there cells.

Both men stood still as they waited for the guards to reach their cells to see exactly what would happen. If luck was on their side maybe they would pass right by and not give them a second glance. It didn't seem that would happen though since the guards came to a halting stop right in front of Carson's cell. They took a ring of keys out and unlocked the door.

"Hey!" Ronon grunted and from across the hall he reached through the bars to grab the men.

He roared when he realized he was too far away, his fingers came an inch to the mans neck and then the bars stopped him from going any further. He swore something and tried to reach further.

However the guards were not idiots, they knew what he was doing and backed away and appropriate number of feet. They laughed to one another at his struggles and the one standing in the doorway of Carson's cell took a small pipe from his belt and loaded it with something.

Carson rushed to his feet only realizing what the pipe was when it was too late, he had in inkling Ronon did to because he tried to duck out of the way when a small dart was blown in his direction but it was so small and fast it was like trying to dodge a bullet at point blank range.

It struck Ronon in the arm. He pulled it out almost immediately and then dropped the small dart to the ground, but apparently the poison at the tip was strong. After only a few seconds he began to feel woozy, his vision was beginning to blur and the world seemed to be turning upside down. He tried to walk forward but he ended up nearly toppling over and he had to grab the bars of the cell in order to stay on his feet.

He watched through blurred eyes as the guards entered Carson's cell and roughly pulled him out. He witnessed the doctor fight but he was no match for the two much larger men. Wanted nothing more then to help Ronon tried once more to will his arms to moved and grab one of them as they came close but he couldn't seem to get his limbs to work.

He suck to the floor, coming to the horrifying realization they had paralyzed him and he knew it couldn't hang on to his consciousness any longer.

"Ronon!" Carson called out over his shoulder as he saw him fall to the ground. "Ronon!" He tried again then turned to the men in a rage and fought against his bound hands. "What did ya do to him!?"

They gave him a small glance but said nothing and continued to hall him away.

"What did ya do?" He cried again trying to look over his shoulder once more but the guards around him prevented it. He opened his mouth to speak again but was met with the back of one of the guard's hands as it roughly swept across his face.

His mouth filled with blood as he hung his head and he spit it to the ground, he noticed his lower lip was now stinging and expected it was cut. Looking up at the men he could see no emotion across there faces, he couldn't tell if they were following orders or if they really enjoyed their job a little too much.

"Be silent." The one who struck him grunted in a low grinding voice.

Carson sneered up at them. "Make me." He said and learned right away that was a mistake. Another hand came flying toward his face making it snap in the opposite direction and cause the angry split lip to bleed once more.

He decided to be silent for the rest of the journey but that didn't mean he would stop struggling. He fought with his captors until they drug him outside and he had to shut his eyes almost immediately. They weren't used to sunlight after being in the dark cell for so many hours and it now pained him.

He stumbled along for a minute until he got the will to squint his eyes open in the bright sunlight. It was a nice day out, shame he had to spend it stuck in a dark cell underground… at least he hoped he would be going back to the cell. If he went back to the cell it would mean they wouldn't kill him right here and he still had a chance to escape or be rescued, either one would work for him just fine.

He felt the bonds behind his back relinquish their hold on his wrists and he was momentarily confused, that is until he saw the tall post standing before him in the town square. He wondered what it was used for when he first entered the village but brushed it off as he got to know the people and how kid they were… or how he thought how kind they were.

His ankles were tied to the bottom and his hands to the top leaving next to no mobility for his body. One of the guards who carried him out stepped forward with a knife. Carson shut his eyes preparing for the worst when the knife came dangerously close to his chest but all he was met with was ripping fabric and he saw they were cutting his jacket and shirt off to expose his bare chest.

Carson bit his lip as his heart began to race, they could really do anything to him in this position. They had all the power, he had nothing right now. He looked around the village and was grateful he did not see his friends for them to witness this but he was also torn apart. He was hoping them would be here ready to rescue him, but that might have been wishful thinking. He knew they would come back for him and Ronon, he just really hoped it was sooner rather then later.

Irion stepped from the ground with a sadistic grin across his old face, Carson was sickened by the fact this person called himself a holy man. He was obviously finding pleasure in this whole ordeal. Behind him he saw Tnuk with a very different expression, he was grim and looked almost resentful of what was about to happen, whatever it was.

"The accused," Irion began as a smallish fire began to roar up behind him. "Must complete three tasks, if he passes each he will be proven to not have been a witchcraft user and he will be awarded the most humble of funerals."

Carson became alert and a sharp tinge of panic welled in his chest. "If I pass I'm gonna die? Well, what the bloody hell happened if I fail?"

"If he fails his tasks he will be condemned to burn on the stake with the prayer from the Gods that the witch burn slowly under its heat and be sent to the hellish underworld by the Gods."

"What if I fail one but pass two?" Carson asked.

He received no response as Irion walked over to the burning fire behind him. "The first task will be the mortal fire. If he burns he will have past the test. If the fire fails to scorch his exposed shin he will be labeled a witch for this task."

Carson furrowed his brow, if he was a witch (which he wasn't) how did they expect him to burn on a stake if he resisted the fire they were about to press against his chest… His thoughts trailed off as he saw two men each carrying something red hot on a long iron stick that looked a bit like a giant spatula.

Sweat covered his forehead as the giant spatulas approached him. The first lifted the flattened portion and slowly pressed it against the right side of his chest just bellow his collar bone. His teeth gritted and he couldn't help but hiss at the intense pain but he did not cry out. He whimpered when it was taken away but he kept his mouth clamped shut.

The second time he was not so lucky as to have the man treat him carefully. This guard swung the rod like a baseball bat and had the flat portion slap him on the ribs painfully. He opened his mouth and let out an agony filled cry before pressing his teeth together and screaming through them.

He didn't have time to recover another red hot poker was pressed against his skin and tears sprang in his eyes. They didn't hesitate in streaming down his cheeks as another was pressed as well. Between torture he opened his sparkling eyes and though his vision was foggy he was the pleasure filled smile of Irion and Tnuk behind him with a hand covering his eyes. Carson didn't have the will to interpret anything he saw, he allowed his head to hang before opening his mouth to beg.

"Please…" he croaked through a broken voice. "Please… stop."

Tnuk unshielded his eyes and gasped at his condition. "Irion, surly this is enough. He has felt the heat of the flame and has burned. Can not this alone prove his innocence?"

The healer glared at the village leader, he always thought the man to be weak, now he was seeing just how weak he was. "No, he must pass the remaining two tasks. Witches are weak, they can withstand this task, maybe the second but when the third comes they will have no choice but to use their magical power and grant themselves life. You just wait, he will show his magical abilities in due time.

Tnuk gave a faint nod and watched at the released the binds around Carson's wrists and ankles. He collapsed to the ground hard and groaned in such a way Tnuk felt the urge to cover his ears.

"I must go…" He said looking away from the torture before him. "I must look after my son."

Irion watched him go and allowed his upper lip to curl. Even now he was still feeling sympathy for the witch. Sometimes he just did not understand the man, someone comes along and attempts murder on his only son and he still feels they should release him. It was no wonder the ones who steal life were beginning to attack their village, his poor leadership had put them in a sorry spot with the Gods. Irion prayed that the death of this witch would put them in favor of the Gods once more.

* * *

Carson was dragged down to the cells once more and now with his tattered and torn shirt the cold was stinging his skin even more then it had. The cold brought him to full consiousness as he heard the door of his cell open and he was roughly pushed in. Landing on the hard floor irritated his wounds, he whimpered and curled in on himself in the middle of the cell. He sort of hoped he was still with Ronon but he also didn't. Ronon was tough but he didn't need to see him like this.

"Doc?"

The grunt came from across the hall and Carson immediately knew Ronon was there. He cracked open his still tear filled eyes and turned his head to see the larger man across the hall. He expected to see him pacing but no, Ronon was on the floor with his heal laying limply against his shoulder with his eyes staring off in his general direction. What had happened while he was gone? He thought then he remembered, the dart.

"Lad…" Carson moaned and tried to sit up. "Are ye a'right?"

Ronon chuckled weakly. "Just like you to think of someone else when you're in such bad shape."

"That doesn't answer my question."

His face feel. "I can't move." He mumbled. "I can't see."

He was blind and paralyzed? Carson screamed in his head, no wonder he was staring off into space like that. "How long?" He said hoarsely, the cold around him was beginning to numb his pain and he was grateful for that.

"Dunno, I uh… black out after you left… I woke up a little while ago. Couldn't see, couldn't move."

Carson forced himself to move against the nearby bars to the left of him, the back of his cell and about half of the walls to his left and right. What was left of the walls were made of prison bars. He sighed and rested his neck against his shoulder and curled into a ball to ward off the cold and subdue the stabbing pain he was still feeling.

"I wish I could examine you." Carson groaned and Ronon's sightless eyes shifted to try and relocate him. "I'm sure its a temporary poison… you'll be fine given time."

Ronon didn't answer, Carson wasn't sure if he was just being his silent self or if he was physically unable to. He was talking before but what if the poison spread? The fear faded though when he saw Ronon's eyebrows furrow into a line of worry above his eyes. Carson didn't blame him, he would be worried if he was blind and paralyzed too, and if that wasn't bad enough it was Ronon. He relied on his strength.

"Just hang in there." Carson said through the pain. "The rest of the team'll be here… they will."


	6. Escape Attempt

**AN:** I'm sorry I've been neglecting this story. I've been busy and I was writing like one sentence per day until I realized I wasn't gonna get anywhere doing that. So I set my butt down on the first day of my spring break and just wrote a nice long chapter for you. This was the result its like two chapters in one, I'll try and update faster in the future.

EDIT: I'm sorry, I forgot to add the breaks in before posting. They're in now so all is well.

Escape Attempt

"Elizabeth!" John roared the second he stepped out of the jumper and he was standing firmly on the floors of Atlantis. When they reached the jumper they relayed a message back to Atlantis and told them of the situation. They didn't say the whole problem but they made sure Elizabeth understood what was happening.

"John?" She asked as she stepped forward to meet him, it was obvious they had woken her up, her hair was a mess and she had bags under her eyes. John forgot how different the time on Atlantis was compared to that of the planet. "What happened?" She noticed Rodney and Teyla behind him. "Where's the rest of the team? You said something happened… Where are Carson and Ronon?"

He swallowed his throat before he spoke. "That's the problem, we ran into a bit of trouble. Carson was arrested and Ronon too."

"What were they arrested for?" She cried out.

"The natives are idiots, okay, that's about it. We don't have time for this, Elizabeth. They said they'd let Ronon go once his sentence was up however the hell long that takes but – "

"But they're gonna kill Carson!" Rodney cried still not having left the back of the jumper. He could have sworn they already told her this over the communicator. "So if we don't leave to get them back soon I'm gonna take this jumper and go myself."

"I would have to agree with Rodney," Teyla said stepping with to Elizabeth and John as she exited the jumper. "We are unsure how much time they have.."

"He was arrested for witchcraft. Ronon was arrested for defending him." Rodney piped up.

She nodded and looked down in thought, they could see her mentally battling with herself to try and decide her next move. "I'll arrange Lorne and his team to leave in the morning, until then I advise you to rest." She saw the protest in their faces and explained. "You look exhausted, Lorne's team just returned from a mission of their own a few hours ago I'm not waking them up and sending them out now. I know you want to go which is why we have to wait. If I sent you out without letting you get some sleep first it would only cause more harm then good."

"How are we supposed to sleep?" John cried. "Half my team is in prison." Carson wasn't a member of his team but he might as well of been.

"If you need something to help you can go to the infirmary. But I want you all to sleep and rest up for the rescue mission." She said as she turned around on her heel, she tapped her headset presumably calling Major Lorne and informing him on the situation.

John struggled to move from where he stood as he turned around to face the other two. "Well, I guess we just have to wait now."

Rodney scoffed. "Wait? We don't have time to wait."

Normally John would make some sort of remark about his eagerness to get back into the field, especially when there was known danger at work. However this was a special case, he knew Rodney was close friends with the Doc, when they managed to become such pals he didn't know, it probably had something to do with Rodney's frequent hospital visits. Either way he didn't want to see Carson in trouble, none of them did. He wasn't really what you would call a field man.

They had to save Ronon too, but Ronon wasn't the one who was going to get executed on a false charge.

"What do we do now?" Teyla asked, sure they were supposed to be resting but she couldn't expect them to rest now could she?

John shrugged and lead him team out of the jumper hanger. "Let's go change, have a shower, then wait." He knew none of them had any intention on sleeping or resting in any way. He wouldn't rest until he knew his team was safe. Elizabeth didn't know the danger they were in, she wasn't there she didn't understand.

"If Lorne's not ready by morning, we're leaving without him, right?" Rodney asked.

"Of course." John confirmed.

Rodney sat on the bed in his room with his arms folded across his chest and his feet propped up on the messy blankets. He did what John suggested, he took a shower, he changed he was all ready to go it just seemed like no one else was. It had been five hours since they arrived back on Atlantis. The sun wasn't due to rise for another hour and he knew it would still be a little while after that they would leave. They still needed to pass the mission briefing and all that, if it were up to him they would have left by now. If only he could get Elizabeth to understand what was happening. Rodney knew they weren't just in prison, something was happening to them he just didn't know what.

He flung his legs off the side of the bed and popped up. He supposed there was no harm in waiting in the mission briefing room that way when he did get the call for the briefing he'd already be there. No rushing, no wasting even more time then they already were.

He decided to take a somewhat longer path to the room; he knew they wouldn't be ready yet it would still be hours, so he had time to take it easy. There would be no point in running there only to wait. He took about five minutes to walk to the balcony that displayed the stargate bellow it, he wasted less time idly walking them he would have liked to it seemed even when he was trying to stall he couldn't.

Rodney nearly walked by the gate without giving it a second thought and he would have if the familiar hum and glow hadn't begun announcing it was trying to be used. He whipped around to see it was indeed activated, his heart started pounding hopping it was Carson and Ronon, there were no teams out so it couldn't have been anyone returning from a mission.

Taking a glance at the control booth he saw the men and women in there were just as confused as he was. Since he was quite a distance away he couldn't hear what they were saying, but he did see Dr. Weir come in. She spoke with them only briefly and then after about a second of thought later she gave them the word to allow whoever it was to come through the gate.

Rodney leaned over the rail as he waited for the arrival of hopefully his friends. He almost fell over with how far he was leaning… again. Well if you want to get technical the first time he fell he was thrown by John.

It was a little while before someone stepped through and Rodney was worried maybe it was a trick. But just moments before the gate closed up a familiar tall deadlocked caveman stepped through and Rodney pounded his palm on the rail with glee and grinned. However then he noticed the absence of one Scottish doctor.

He looked around to double check, maybe Carson had come in earlier but he didn't see how that was possible he was looking at the gate the whole time.

Immediately people began to crowd around Ronon who didn't move from where he stood, almost like he was lost. Rodney knew he wouldn't have been the first one to notice the odd behavior of the normally confident man but he didn't say anything, he looked out of breath, he probably just escaped the guards or something. He was tired.

Rodney bolted from the rail and ran down the stairs to the floor where Ronon was standing. He could hear some of the people already there talking to him and to people over their headsets they were calling in someone to bring a gurney. Strange, Rodney thought, he didn't look hurt.

"Ronon?" Rodney asked and the man turned in his direction, he seemed oddly unfocused. "Where's Carson?" He felt almost bad asking about someone else but now that they knew Ronon was safe there was only one person to worry about.

"McKay?" He asked and without waiting for a response he continued. "Still there," Ronon grunted. "He got hurt, I tried to help him but I couldn't… they told me to run. There was no use in both of us getting caught again."

Now Rodney was sure they had made an escape attempt. Ronon seemed distressed by the fact he couldn't help Carson, the two were friends. The doctor was one of the first people, if not the first, Ronon trusted on Atlantis probably due to the fact he was the one who removed the tracker from his back.

"Is he okay?" Rodney knew Ronon wouldn't know but he had to ask.

Ronon paused and gave him a face that seemed even less expressive then usual. "No." He said simply.

The medics pushed through moments later with a gurney and tried to get Ronon to lay down on it. To Rodney's surprise he didn't put up as much a fight as Rodney thought he would.

"Ronon…" Rodney began carefully. "What's wrong with you?"

"I can't see." He said trying to keep the quiver from entering his voice.

Rodney didn't say anything, he couldn't say anything. What could he say after Ronon admitted with pure terror in his eyes that he was blind? Of course this raised whole new questions for them, but he could worry about them later.

As he followed the medical staff to the infirmary he was joined by John and Teyla who had heard that Ronon was back alone. They did not know of his condition though, Rodney found himself informing them along the way.

"So, he's blind?" John asked incredulously.

Rodney nodded. "According to him."

"But if this is truly the case," Teyla began. "How was he able to return to us?"

John shrugged. "Ronon's always been a resourceful person."

"He said something about they," Rodney brought up as they waited outside the infirmary for the doctors to fill them in on his condition. "He said they told me to run, maybe he had help."

"He would have had to of had some," she agreed. "Ronon is a strong independent man but even for him traveling through that forest unaided and blind to find the stargate would be an impossible task."

"Do you think it's permanent?" Rodney asked.

John stared ahead and silently chewed on the inside of his cheek. "No," he finally said, the two were unsure if he was sure of this or if he was trying to convince himself. They had a feeling it was the latter. "It's not because I'm not letting it be."

Normally this was the point where Carson would come out and confirm John's thoughts and explain it in a rational way. He would say he wasn't permanently blind it would return tomorrow, or just a little surgery and he would be right as rain. But no, he wouldn't do that because he wasn't there.

Instead of Carson Dr. Biro stepped out, she looked grave, but then again she never did hold too much emotion to begin with.

"Well Doc," said John facing the shorter pathologist. "What's the diagnosis?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, I found an injection point on his neck, its bruised and sore, he was shot with something and this something wasn't a regular needle. From what I can tell of the remains in his system and what's he's told me it's a poison, one I have no knowledge of whatsoever. I can't even guess what we're dealing with."

The team sighed, this sounded like worse news then they wanted to hear.

"However according to him only about four hours ago he was paralyzed… completely," she added. "He's still severely weak from the poison in his system but he is recovering from it. At the pace he's going he should heal from the paralysis completely. If he can do that maybe he can recover from the blindness as well, only time will tell."

John really hated it when doctors said that. "Can we see him?" He asked feeling awkward that he even had to say it. With Carson he never had to ask it, but this wasn't Carson.

"Oh, yes, yes, feel free." She said stepping aside to allow them into the infirmary.

They walked past the beds and to the one in the far back that Ronon was currently occupying. He wasn't lying down or under the covers; he was sitting up looking perfectly normal. Well, somewhat, his eyes were unfocused and he was staring off and nothing in particular. It was a bit disturbing. He also seemed usually limp, like he just finished a triathlon and he wasn't allowed any water.

Ronon must have heard them coming because he tilted his head in the direction and spoke. "Hey." He said in a tone he only gave few people on Atlantis.

"How'd you know it was us?" John asked.

Ronon shrugged. "Who else would it be?"

"Point taken, so, we were wondering…"

"You wanna know what happened?"

"Something like that."

Ronon sighed as his eyes drifted away from them to stare at a spot just above on of the cabinets. No matter how much the team tried they still couldn't drag their own eyes away from his eerie sightless ones.

"We were in our cells…" he began.

* * *

Ronon stared at the wall. It was all he could do really, slowly he found he was getting some mobility back. He could clench his fists but not nearly tight enough to even crumple paper. Though he was able to move a little now his vision still had yet to improve, he couldn't tell if it was because of the darkness around them or if it was because of his blindness.

There was a stir to the right of him coming from the doc's cell. Ronon presumed he had fallen asleep, he had no idea how long ago it was. His perception of time was gone but it couldn't have been too long ago.

"Doc?" He grunted into the darkness.

"Ronon?" Came the weary and weak response. He must still be in pain, Ronon thought, and who could blame him? He was just tortured for no good reason. "How are ya, lad?" He asked as he heard more shuffling. He must have been trying to stand or move closer or something.

Just like the Doc to be thinking of someone else when he was in obvious pain. "Fine."

"Well… now I know you're lyin'. How are yeh, really? Can ya see?"

A pause. "No."

A dejected sigh. "What about mobility?"

"A little," Ronon answered shortly.

"That's good news, yeah? It hasn't been that long, in no time you'll be up and about again."

Ronon grunted but didn't respond. He let his head fall to the side and he shut his useless eyes. There was a silence that fell over the two, it was deathly quiet in the prison for an undetermined amount of time, until a door opened and a guard came waltzing down. Ronon heard the sound of faint clinking metal. Like a tray.

"I do not know what good this would do to you." The guard mocked as he placed the food and water in Ronon's cell. "You can't even move to get it. However Tnuk has ordered me to bring you and the witch nourishment. Sometimes I do not understand his logic." He growled, Ronon could hear him lean against the bars on his cell. "Are you prepared for your next task, witch?" He must have been talking to Carson now. "I am very much looking forward to this one. Those burns that stain your skin now will feel like feathers on your skin. We will prove you are a witch one way or another. You can not hold out for long."

Ronon opened and narrowed his eyes. He slowly turned his head around to face the guard, since there was no reaction, that he could hear, he must still have been looking at Carson. Using the opportunity he moved his hand and then his arm, after his small success with these body parts his shifted his legs and then his body. With a wave of confidence he listened for the guard to shuffle and make some sound against the bars to tell Ronon of his exact location. The second he did Ronon wasted no time in throwing himself forward at the bars and grabbing the guard.

He didn't know how tall he was or how big he was but it didn't matter. When he reached through the bars he met with the guards arms so raising his hands up a bit ore in a split second he fond the neck and then the head. Without a second thought he snapped it. The guard could barley react much less scream for help.

Carson watched the body fall to the floor in shock. "Ronon, I thought ya said ya couldn't move or see?"

"I can't." He said sliding down the bars and too the floor.

"Then what the bloody hell was that?"

"Luck." He said feeling around through the bars to the keys he heard jungle on the man's belt. "We're getting out of here, Doc."

"Just to the left, ya almost have them." Carson directed as Ronon continued to feel around. "There ya go, son, ya got them. Now the keyhole is to your right… A little higher, more… there, ya found it."

All the keys to the cells must have been the same because after only three tries with the keys he found the right one and his door swung open only to come to a halt when it hit the dead body on the floor.

Ronon used all the strength he could muster to crawl from the cell and over to Carson's cell. He tossed the keys in his general direction and in seconds the squeak from the hinges on his door sounded out. He heard a pain filled moan as Carson stood up and Ronon felt utterly helpless when Carson had to give him a hand in getting to his feet.

"C'mon, lad, arm around my shoulder, there ya go. Now which way do we go? If we go the way they've all been comin' in Lord knows how many guards we'll run into."

"They're bound to come looking for this guy after he doesn't come back." Ronon said trying as hard as he could do support his own weight.

"Aye, you're right." Carson said as he moved around the cells supporting both himself and mostly Ronon who was trying his hardest to walk on his own.

They ascended the tall staircase with trouble. Neither of them realized how far down in the ground they were until they were forced to crawl out crippled and wounded. As they reached a landed they became aware of how much warmer it was up here. Spending so much time in the cold dark they had become somewhat accustomed to it.

"Hide somewhere," Ronon said quietly. "People are coming."

Carson didn't argue, he was a doctor and in being one he had done enough reading on people who lose one of their senses only to have their others heightened. Ronon's senses were already heightened to begin with so he could only imagine what they were like now. He did as he was told and ducked down behind one of the closest walls, concealing them from view of the staircase. Only moment's later Carson heard footsteps come clanking down, they must have realized their comrade was missing.

With a soft spoken word of thanks Carson climbed the rest of the stairs only to have to hide once again when another guard came running up. Carson remembered him from seeing him wandering around the village but they ahd never met. He was somewhat short and younger then the others, maybe his early twenties. He had a way about him that told Carson he was probably picked on heavily by his superiors.

This young guard peeked between every spot in the landing. He was looking for them Carson realized and he would find them for sure. There was no where to go and no where to hide. Ronon must have known this too because he raised his head and opened his eyes as if daring the man to just try and kill them. Even in his severely weakened state Ronon was still a force to be reckoned with.

The young guard poked his head around the corner where the pair were hiding and immediately spotted them. Their hiding place was pathetic. However rather then shouting out to the others that he found them he grinned and crept closer to them.

"Good," he whispered. "I was worried maybe you didn't make it."

Carson took a step back with Ronon who seemed utterly confused. "Who the hell are you?" Ronon snarled as his muscles tensed, he wanted nothing more then to reach out and squeeze his neck but he feared if he used too much energy to do that he's fall to the ground.

The young man held both hands up in surrender. "My name is Atin, I am here to help you."

"Help?" Carson breathed.

"Yes, help." He confirmed. "We must go it will not be long before they find you up here and they will surly punish you for this." Carson slowly followed him out of the hiding spot and Atin noticed how much trouble he was having with Ronon. "You do not look well."

Carson rolled his eyes and Ronon verbally huffed.

"Would you care for some help with your friend? He is weak." Atin said moving to take Ronon's other arm.

The Satedan growled and glared in the direction he hoped Atin was standing in.

"That might not be the best idea, lad." Carson said making his own distain for the guard obvious. "At the moment, you're not exactly in good favor with us." But what other choice did they have? This young guard was their only chance of getting out.

He nodded. "I understand however we must hurry."

Carson had no objection to that. They followed the short man out of the labyrinth like dungeons and to the surface floor. He took them down halls that seemed deserted. "This way," he whispered. "It is used for emergencies and at the moment I can not think of a better one."

The hallway led them to a locked door which he quickly opened with a key he kept at his belt. The door swung open revealing the forest line not far away. "We will have to hurry; they will be looking for you. Now, please, allow me to help with your friend you can barley walk." He said almost desperately. "I do not want you to suffer such a fate as Irion wishes you to. As far as I am concerned you have done no wrong, now please, let me help you."

Carson nodded and passed Ronon over to the younger much stronger man, if Atin was going to betray them it would make no difference now. He supported the tall warrior with much more ease then Carson did. "Are you well?" He asked Carson. "We must move quickly from here on are you able?"

"Aye lad, I am."

"Very well… then come!"

The pair ran to the forest line. It was a short run but they were going so slow, Carson was still in pain and sore from his first test and Atin had to deal with the weight of a Satedan warrior. The tree and building coverage around them was enough to supply them with shelter until they reached the forest line. Atin continued to help Ronon even though now that he was moving it seemed like he was beginning to get stronger, at least his legs were now moving quicker.

They ran into the forest for ten minutes or so until Atin stopped and laid Ronon down beside a tree. "I know how to get to the thing I believe you call… stargate from here. It is a few hours to walk but it we run we can cut that time in half."

"Then let's start running." Ronon said from his seat, he still didn't trust Atin and he never would but they were wrapped up with this kid now, they had no other choice. If it were only him he never would have accepted the help but even everything the Doctor's been through he still believed in the good of humanity and due to Ronon's condition Carson was running this show.

"Can ye make it, lad?" Carson asked moving to help him up.

Ronon braced himself against the trunk of the tree and forced himself upward into a standing position. His legs were shaky and he was still blind as a bat but he was standing unaided. "Let's go." He grunted and allowed the others to take hold of his arms and help support him.

It took a bit of practice but soon the three men were running with ease through the thick trees. Carson had no idea where they were, he was a bit frightened, he could only imagine how Ronon felt.

They ran through the trees for some time until a flash of pain jolted through Carson and he lost his footing causing himself to trip. He cried out in pain as his ankle painfully twisted around some distorted roots sticking up out of the ground. He gripped the injured joint and hesitantly looked down. He was still wearing his combat boots but he could tell his ankle was broken just by the pain.

"Doc?" Ronon asked as he stumbled forward to catch himself on a tree when Atin released him to tend to Carson. "What happened?"

"I fell," he said and dryly laughed at the irony. "Just my luck, aye?"

"I will help you." Atin said bending down to help the doctor up. He tried to stand but found even the slightest pressure eon his ankle to be agony.

"No, go with Ronon, take him to the gate."

"I'm not leaving you behind, Doc." Ronon grunted and walked over with small shuffling steps.

Carson shrugged even though he knew Ronon couldn't see it. "We can't both go, lad, neither of us can walk on our own."

"You need the less help." Ronon pointed out.

"No, you do. You're gettin' stronger, ya can walk. You're still blind but you've proven more then once ya don't need your sight in order ta see. Yeh can run faster then I can with a little help… if I went, I'd be hoppin'." He grinned humorlessly.

"I'm not leaving." He repeated.

"Then you're a damn bloody fool!" Carson shouted. "We both know ya have the most chance of makin' it back and with the way you're mobility is improvin' I wouldn't be surprised by the time ya reach the gate you'd be runnin' around on your own."

Ronon was speechless. He only vaguely felt hand grip his shoulders forcing him to his feet. He managed to shake them off in anger moments later when he realized what was happening. "You don't get it, I can't leave you behind." He said quietly.

Carson nodded. Ronon was very much like John in many ways. Neither left a man behind, John hated to abandon a team member, no matter what the cost. "Then don't think of it as you're leavin' me behind." Carson said equally as quiet. "Think of it as you're comin' back for me later with the team ta get me out o' here."

When Ronon didn't move Carson gave him a push from the ground. "Get out o' here! Now! There's no point in both of us gettin' captured again."

"We have to leave." Atin said getting anxious that the other guards were onto him. "We must go!" He said tugging on Ronon's arm, not that it did much good to move the man.

Ronon looked down to the doctor and nodded. "I'm coming back."

"If ya don't, I'll be quite displeased with ya, lad." Carson said with a smirk.

Without saying another word Ronon turned around and with the help of Atin continued onward toward the gate. Carson watched them leave biting his lower lip in fear of what was going to happen to him once he was found.

* * *

John stared at Ronon in shock of what he was just told. He left Carson behind? Of course he could understand his reasoning but now he understood why the big guy seemed so… depressed.

"We have to go back." Ronon said.

"We will," John assured clasping a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, big guy, we're not leaving Carson there."

"Wait," Teyla said holding up a hand. "You said you were helped by a man, Atin, right? What has happened to him?"

"By the time we got to the gate," Ronon began. "The guards caught up to us, they must have found our trail, which means they got the Doc… I couldn't figure out the gate address without being able to see it. By the time I was sure I was right they were here, I only just made it through. They got him. We have to go back." He repeated.

"We?" Rodney asked. "In case you haven't noticed you're blind!" He immediately regretted saying it but he just couldn't help himself.

Ronon turned his blurred gaze toward him. "I said I would go back for him, and you're not going to stop me, McKay." He growled making Rodney flinch.

John nodded. "You'll go, Ronon, but we have to go find Elizabeth. We have to leave now, no more waiting, I don't care if Lorne's team is ready or not… we're going."


	7. Punishment

Punishment

He waited in the woods half of his mind praying that Ronon would come back any second with the rest of the team to save him but the other half knowing that wasn't possible. The others had to be through the gate by now and maybe if Ronon had been in top shape he could make it in some sort of record time but he wasn't. He was still blind and weakened.

So now all he had to do was wait for the guards to come and take him back. He didn't know what would happen then. Would they just kill him for his escape attempt? Would they give him some sort of treatment and then go back to the usual torture? Whatever it was he knew he wouldn't be getting off free, but he wasn't too worried. Well, that was a lie, he was, and actually terrified would be more accurate word. He knew his friends would come to save him, he just hoped it wouldn't too late. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

As he lay on the ground cradling his broken limb he chewed on his bottom lip and listened with all his might. That was when it came, the crunching of leaves in the distance behind him. The shouts and yells signaling the men were closing in on his location. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath as he tried to push himself deeper into the tree trunk behind him. He wished he could just melt into it and disappear then he would be safe, nothing bad would happen.

The voices became clearer and after a minute it was like they were right behind him. Shifting his body he tried to curl up closer to the tree trunk, the pain from the movement caused tremors to ripple through his body and he hissed in a sharp breath. He hoped they didn't hear him, but then again it probably didn't matter, before he even looked up he knew they were standing over him. He could see their large shadows created by the heavy protective armor they wore. It couldn't have been a comfortable outfit.

His eyes slowly flickered upward and above him stood a guard he had not yet seen before but that didn't make the man any less menacing.

"Well," the guard said with a grin spreading across his face. "What have we here? I've found the witch." He shouted to the others.

Unconsciously he shrunk back into the trunk of the tree.

The man grinned sadistically, some of the people here truly were sick, Carson thought she he was roughly grabbed and hauled to his feet. Before he could control himself he cried out as pressure was applied to his foot.

The guard looked down and saw the injury. "Sir," he called out to his superior officer. "The witch has harmed itself."

More steps were heard as several ore men came barreling toward him. "How badly?"

"I do not believe he can walk well."

"He could be faking it, check the wound and make sure it is existent. Depending on its severity we can decide how to bring him back." The large man turned around to fake the remaining men behind him. "I want four of you to go after the others; they could not have gotten far. As I recall the warrior should still be blinded, it's inconceivable he is able to move now…"

Despite his better judgment Carson smirked and said, "Well lad, if that's what you think then you obviously don't know Ronon very well." For the comment he felt a hand whip across his face causing a flash of white hot pain.

"You will speak when spoken to, witch!" The man hissed and immediately after that his boot came off none too gently. Carson hissed but refused to cry out this time as the pain settled in. "It is not as severe as he makes it seem," the man glared at Carson. "He can make it back on his own two feet."

Carson looked mortified, his foot was broken, he was sure of it. How did they expect him to walk back on it all that distance?

"Come!" The leader ordered. "You, witch, have made a very grave mistake today, I hope you realize that. Perhaps if you waited your innocence could be proven through further tests but now this only supports the accusation you are indeed a dabbler in the dark arts. Irion will not take kindly to this."

"Why do yeh obey every word he says?" Carson asked desperately and brokenly as he was shoved along painfully through the fallen trees and leaves.

"He is our pathway to the Gods, he is the one who speaks with them. Someone like you can not understand that. Though I suppose he has a connection to them much like you do with the demons you worship." He spat.

Carson made a move to reply but found himself cut off when his foot struck the ground once more and he was overcome with pain. It would be a long trip back to the village, he just hoped Ronon and Atin were fairing better then he was.

* * *

John walked through the corridors of Atlantis and back up to the jumper bay. They would be leaving any minute now, his and Lorne's teams were ready to go back and get their Doctor back. They already wasted too much time, much more and he feared it would be a recovery mission and not a rescue.

Ronon had a hand on John's shoulder and was walking behind him. You wouldn't know it just by looking at him but his sight had not yet returned. He was still staring off into space and if you looked close enough you could see they weren't focused and he stared at nothing. The team could tell he loathed having to depend on the others like this but he had no choice. John was thankful now they were all friends and he knew them decently well, if he didn't and was still new to Atlantis this would be awkward.

They had something of a hard time convincing Elizabeth to let him go but she knew that if she didn't let him John, Mckay and Teyla too would find someway to sneak him aboard the jumper. So it came down to her letting him go or them stowing him away. She was sure to give Lorne some special instructions to make sure not to let the Satedan out of his sight. He quickly agreed and promised her nothing more would happen to the team, or at least nothing bad. Somehow she had a hard time believing that given the team's track record.

John walked into the jumper, Lone and his team would be in the one behind him, like last time they would be touching down before reaching the village. If it were up to John they would land in the middle of the court yard but they feared what this would do to Carson. If they thought what Carson was doing was witchcraft what would they make of the jumper? They might decide to just kill him on the spot.

The teams boarded the puddle jumpers and spared no time in going through the gate. Within a minute they were flying through with Elizabeth over the radio talking to them.

"I don't want my CMO and my number one team killed," she said harsher then she meant but they all must have known that. "Come back alive, that's an order."

"Well you know me, always order abiding." John replied.

They heard her give a small huff of a laugh. "Yeah, right, just be careful."

"We will, no need to worry about us, we'll get he Doc and be back before lunch."

"I hope it's that easy, for all of your sakes." She said gravely. "Tell me when you touch down and give me regular updates. I don't want to have to ask Major Lorne if you're still alive."

"Well I'm pretty sure he'd tell you if I wasn't." John drawled.

"I'm serious here, John, be careful."

"I will, we all will." He said and glanced back to his team who sat anxiously in the jumper, Rodney was in the copilots seat looking like he was trying to kill the whole village with his mind.

"Look after Ronon especially." She added.

"Hey," the warrior said gruffly from the back.

John smiled though he knew Elizabeth couldn't see it. "Don't worry; I'll make sure the big guy doesn't walk into any trees or anything."

"Alright, remember, talk to me when you land."

Like a child John grunted and rolled his eyes. "We will, stop it. We'll be fine, Sheppard out." He said and cut the conversation with Elizabeth.

"Are you sure you should have done that?" Teyla asked looked worried.

John waved it off. "Nothing important, if she does get some dire news she has to tell me she can just call me again and I'll answer." He explained. "Now come on, guys, we have a rescue mission to conduct her over-worrying is the least of our problems."

"The least of Carson's maybe." Rodney mumbled and gave John a small glance.

"Don't worry, we'll get him."

Rodney turned his head to say more but then thought better of it. He didn't need to broadcast his paranoia to the rest of the team even if he knew they were thinking it too.

They traveled the rest of the way in near silence and as promised contacted Elizabeth when they touched down. Lorne and his men exited the jumper soon after ready to save the Doctor.

"Okay," John began. "I don't think it would be a good idea for all of us to go bombarding the village, I've seen how these people act and they're nutcases. We'll need back up."

Lorne nodded. "Of course, that's what we're here for." Right away he knew he would be breaking his promise to Elizabeth by letting Ronon out of his sight, but he'd be with the others... "You guys go in and get the Doc, if something should happen we'll jump in and save your asses. And, while you're saving him we'll make sure no one leaves and stumbles upon the jumpers, this isn't a big space, even with a cloak over them the chances would be high someone will walk into them if they chose to walk through the clearing."

John paused and bit his lip. "Hey, giving out the orders is my job."

He nodded again. "Would you have anything to change to what I just said? Anything to add maybe?"

Another pause. "Can't think of anything."

"Alright then, let's move out."

"Oh come on, at least let me say that." John complained as the teams ran off to their destinations. They gave Lorne and his team a detailed description of the village and what they would stumble across while patrolling the outskirts that and with their directional technology they shouldn't have a problem.

John an the team arrived at the village about a half hour later, they tried to touch down closer and they had been running as fast as possible. Ronon, who now had full mobility back, was running along with them just fine as long as someone stayed ahead of him which about eighty percent of the time was John. He stumbled a few times but most of the time they tried to warn him when something came up he would trip over. They could tell the third time he stumbled slightly over a stray log the blindness was bothering him, and who wouldn't it bother? But still, he had probably hoped it would be gone by now.

When they arrived at the village they peered in over the surrounding brush which kept them well hidden. From what they saw they couldn't see Carson anywhere, they wished Ronon could see so he could try and track him, with an injured foot his tracks probably wouldn't be hard to find. But the others couldn't tell if the tracks around them were human or made by some animal, injured or not injured. Even Teyla was having trouble, though she found something but she couldn't be sure of anything. Maybe if they tromped through some mud they could tell but their luck wasn't that good.

They slowly walked along the edge looking for any sign of Carson as John quietly spoke over the comm. to Lorne.

"We're here, we don't see the Doc yet but we started."

Over the link Lorne replied. "Okay, we're about fifty yards behind you. We'll keep an eye out for anything, maybe they didn't come back yet."

"No…" John murmured. "They came back."

"Keep looking," Lorne said. "Well be in touch."

"Yeah," John said and turned back to the others. "See anything?" He asked with his weapon partially raised and at the ready.

"I do not," Teyla said. "It does not seem any different then it was when we first arrived…" She observed.

"But it is," Rodney pointed out.

"No," John said. "It's not any different, they were freaks like this before we came along, we just didn't see it until it was too late."

"Doesn't have to be too late," Ronon grunted as he walked behind them with his head ducked down behind the bushes.

"Oh no," they heard Teyla said, she had wandered down a few feet a head of them and was staring at a spot in the town they could not see from where they stood with a hand over her mouth.

"What?" Rodney asked and was the first one to rush over, John was right behind him but he had to make sure Ronon wasn't going to fall over anything. "That's not good." he croaked. "Why… why – why do we take him on missions? Nothing good ever happens."

Ronon opened his mouth a couple times like a fish to ask what was going on but through better of it. He remembered how the Doc came back when he was still trapped in the cell, he couldn't imagine what they did to him this time.

"I do not see him." Teyla said as they looked.

"He must be I the cell." Ronon grunted earning everyone's attention. "That's where they put him, after the torture." He added.

They all went silent for a minute after that. "We have to go get him," John said and looked to the others. "Ronon, do you remember where you exited the prison? Did you see anything in particular?"

The warrior raised an eyebrow as if asking if John was really asking that. "There was a door," he began. "On one side of the prison the run to the woods wasn't far so if there's a door that's close to the forest line I can bet you that's where we left from."

"You're a genius." John said. "Not too many blind men can do the things I've seen you do the past few hours, Ronon."

"I'd hardly think that requires genius." Rodney mumbled.

* * *

In his cell Carson whimpered and whined as he lay on his stomach in the fetal position, refusing to move even the slightest. He was in pain. No scratch that, he was in agony. His whole body aches with every move he made. At first he knew his friends would come but now he didn't care anymore. He was on the verge of giving up, he was almost praying for death to take him.

He moaned and tried to hide his face deeper into the hard floor under him. For the millionth time since he was locked in here after his escape attempt his mind replayed the series of events that lead him to his pain.

* * *

Carson cried out in pain as they threw him down to the ground, he couldn't walk anymore, he was being dragged by the natives back to the village. His medical mind began to run through the repercussions of all this damage to his foot but as he did this he felt his body being pulled upward.

"What are ya doin' now?" Carson asked as he tried to stand on his own two feet.

"You ran away," he heard Irion say. He didn't even know the sadistic healer had been here. "Now I fear you must suffer through the punishment that would have been unnecessary if you had just stayed with us.

Carson bit back a remark as they tried his hands to the thick wooden pole he had been tied to earlier.

"You're escape has done nothing but prove your power to us, there is no way you were able to escape on your own, you and the blind man. You did something, and you did something to one of our own making him turn against us."

"You're daft! He was always against ya! He helped us!" Carson screamed in frustration as he was pinned against the log with his back exposed to everyone.

"No…" Irion scowled. "You have bewitched my men for the last time." He snarled. "Begin." He said to the guards.

Caron felt a wave of panic as what remained of his shirt was torn off leaving his bare back. He couldn't turn his head around but he heard the unmistakable sounds of a whip cracking against the ground. He managed to give a silent prayer before the agonizing weapon struck his back for the first time.


	8. A Rescue

**AN:** Rejoice with me, classes are OVER! But now I have to go find a job, wonderful… I really hate working I swear I do.

A Rescue

It didn't take John long to find the area Ronon had described, it still amazed him how accurate he could be even though he didn't actually see anything. The surrounding area was heavily guarded, John knew the instant he saw the area they weren't getting in there without causing a fuss. But he wasn't too worried about it. These people hadn't even mastered a crossbow, a gun should be able to get in no problem. Besides they had Lorne and his team backing them up should anything happen.

He kneeled down in the dirt and motioned for the others to do so as well. Teyla placed her hand on Ronon's shoulders and pulled him down with her. "What is the plan?" She asked.

"We'll never be able to get in here without alerting everyone in the village." He began. "The second we try shooting we're done for. If we try to sneak up on them we'll be spotted, there's no way of getting over there without them seeing us."

"Take them out." Ronon said holding up his weapon. "It's quiet…er. One of you guys will have to use it though."

"You think we can take them all down without any of them calling for help or anyone else hearing?" Rodney asked.

"If you're fast enough." Ronon answered with a smirk.

"That's comforting." Rodney said rolling his eyes.

"I will," Teyla said taking it from Ronon's hands, she vaguely wondered why he even brought a weapon he couldn't use anyway but she was glad he did. "Let me know when you are ready, Colonel."

"Alright," John nodded.

"Whoa, whoa," Rodney said holding his hand up for a moment. "Before we can do that we need a plan. We can't just run in."

"A plan?" John asked. "What kind of plan would you suggest? We don't know the layout of the jail, all Ronon knows is that he and Carson were being held under ground somewhere and frankly that's not too much help so I'm sort of going with the make it up as we go along routine."

"Not to different then usual." Ronon commented.

John grinned and then turned his gaze on Teyla. "When you're ready," he said and before he knew it she was up and aiming the stunner at the guards with deadly accuracy.

She fired in quick recession taking down each guard as she went. The last one was barley able to let out a shout before he fell to the ground.

"I am unsure if anyone has heard us," she announced standing up fully. "We had better go, I was not able to stun them fast enough."

John raised his brow, it seemed fast to him, well at least faster then he would be able to shoot. "Fair enough," he nodded. "Let's go," he said to them and pulled out his radio to update Lorne real quick. "We're getting the jail now, we just took out about five guards."

"Roger that, good luck." He heard Lorne say over the radio.

"Door locked," Rodney taunted. "Told you we needed a plan."

"Not necessarily," John said routing around the belt of one of the stunned guards before pulling out a key ring with about five keys hanging from it. "Now all we have to do is find the right one." He murmured shoving the keys into the lock experimentally.

"This is not good…" Rodney mumbled bouncing on his heels as he waited for John to find the right key.

"I thought you wanted to get the Doc back," Ronon accused.

Rodney glared at him as if not believing Ronon had just said that. "I do want to get him back, but we're doing him no good in getting killed the process." He snapped as John found the correct key.

"Come on, guns at the ready, we're in." He said slowly pushing the door open with his P-90 held high.

The door pushed open revealing an empty hallway; this was obviously some sort of back exit. Since they didn't find anyone guarding the hallway John had to assume this hallway led to some other central location where there would be dozens of men. This was the jail and Carson and Ronon had managed to escape before so he was probably being heavily guarded. Then again Carson was alone now and probably injured, how much of a threat could he possibly be?

When they reached the end of the long hallway sure enough they heard the low talking of guards. He couldn't tell how many of them there were, at least three judging by the talking but since this was the jail there had to be more. He signaled for the others to be quiet as he crept up on the men with his gun ready. The group barley made it three feet before someone passing by the hallway to get to a cabinet of some sort on the other side of the room spotted them and alerted the others.

Though the man could hardly get one word out it was more then enough to alert the rest of the men. The team tried to get through the hallway and out in the open before the men came. Sure their weapons were far superior then that of the villagers but standing in a narrow hallway with an unknown amount of guards on the outside they were like sitting ducks.

Only moments after emerging from the hallway with guns firing John felt an odd sting in his leg. His left knee hit the floor but from the awkward position he continued firing his P-90 at the assailants. His team had now gone ahead of him and were fighting the remaining guards, just like John suspected they were no match for their guns.

Teyla had managed to find cover behind some barrels as she fired and Rodney had ducked behind a corner, every now and then looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming up behind him. He really had improved on his combat since they arrived on Atlantis. Ronon was standing in the open, at some point Teyla must have given him his stunner back because he was firing at their enemies with deadly accuracy. When John glanced up at him he could see the big guy squinting and blinking rapidly. That must have been a good sign since he was hitting them… for the most part.

"Sheppard!" He heard Rodney shout from the corner. "Move!"

He knew Rodney was right, he tried lifting his knee only to have a white hot flash of pain prevent him from doing so. He allowed his other knee to fall to the ground to steady himself as he gave moving and secured himself to the ground with his weapon raised. He may have been a sitting duck but he was an armed duck.

Within minutes the jail had gone quiet and there were no longer guards in the area. For now at least, it was a safe bet that more were on the way.

"John!" Teyla called as she leaped up from her hiding place and over to him.

"What the hell was that?" Rodney asked as he walked over. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"You are hurt." Teyla stated as she moved her hands around his leg and around the sharp arrow protruding from it.

"Oh," John said looking down, so that's why my legs hurts, he though. "Damn."

"How bad?" Ronon asked.

"Just a flesh wound." John said with a strained grin.

Teyla took a moment to study the wound. "It is not deep."

"Told you." He replied.

Teyla rooted around her bag and pulled out a small med kit she proceeded to wrap the wound around the arrow knowing better then to try and take it out before snapping the end off without giving John even the slightest bit of warning.

"Ah!" He moaned. "We don't have time for this, we have to go and find the Doc."

"If we leave you untreated you will bleed out all over the pace and leave a perfect trail for them to follow." Teyla said staring him in the eye as she worked. "Or you could bleed out and become unconscious."

"Both aren't desirable." Rodney said looking around the room and out the windows and doors for any guards. He opened a door and nearly fell down the large staircase it led too. "Hey guys, I found something." He called out to have Ronon walk over and peer down the stairs. "Let me guess," Rodney said looking at Ronon incredulously. "It's dark?"

"Yeah," Ronon replied and looked back to Teyla and John. "We found the stairs."

"Can you see?" Rodney asked.

Ronon was silent for a moment as if debating his answer. "I can smell it," he finally said.

"Lovely," Rodney winced.

Teyla and John came up behind them with John leaning heavily on the small Athosian woman. He almost felt bad about it but she wasn't giving him much of a choice, she didn't want him leaning too heavily on his leg.

"We'd better go." John said as he and Teyla began leading the way down the long flight of stairs.

* * *

Carson was awake once again and moving. Well, not moving in the sense of walking around or talking or being very functional but moving as in he was able to crawl against the wall to rest. Lying on the hard floor wasn't helping his sore body; leaning upright against the wall gave him more support and allowed him to assess his injuries further.

His left eye he found when he awoke had been swollen shut, he didn't remember getting him though. He assumed it must have been sometime when they caught him trying to escape. He raised a hand and tentatively touched his swollen eye and winced, he would hate to see himself in a mirror right now. Part of his mind was screaming at him he would never see himself in a mirror again, he would never get out of this town again and he would eventually die here. Irion already promised him his second task would be the next morning. He couldn't believe he was only on his second task. He heard this one had to do with water from the guards.

His left shoulder was beginning to hurt, being pinned up against the stone wall like it was, so he attempted to shift its position. He immediately regretted it and let out a pathetic whimper of pain. The movement made him put more pressure on his injured ankle and when he felt the extra pressure it made him jerk causing the rest of his beaten body to move.

He took some steady, deep breaths to try and calm himself down as the tears sprung in his eyes and leaked down his face. He shut his eyes and gave a long shaky sigh. In the distance he could have sworn he heard the door at the top of the steps and footsteps bound downward. They were probably coming back down for him, was it the next morning already? Maybe he passed out at some point in the night; if that was the case he wished he'd remembered it.

The steps were coming closer and closer, he turned his face into the corner of the cell to evade the guards he was sure were coming. He felt a wave of tremors rush over him, they were on the floor now stepping to his cell. He shut his eyes, they were right outside now.

"Carson?"

His eyes snapped open and he waited, due to the injuries he suffered and the fever he was positive he was gaining the voice could have been an illusion.

"Hey, Doc," then a jingle of keys sounded out.

"No, no," said an urgent voice. "You used that one to open the door outside it's not that."

"All the keys to the cells are the same." A deeper voice added.

After one or two tries the door lock clicked open and the people entered.

"Carson?" A soft feminine voice asked. "Perhaps he is unconscious."

"Well not for long," the impatient voice grunted. "Hey, buddy, rise and shine." The voice said with a softer tone.

"Rodney?" Carson said not removing his head from the corner.

"Hey, welcome back to the world of the… living…" The scientist's voice trailed off when Carson turned his head to him revealing to Rodney the cuts and bruises. "How you feeling?" He squeaked.

Carson looked around to the others with his good eye, slightly surprised to see Ronon there and looking in his general direction, his eyes looked better. "'Bout bloody time ya got here."

John smiled and stepped forward. "Nice to have you back, Doc, but we have to get going."

"Not so fast."

The team whipped around to see Irion and a dozen guards standing behind him.

"Arrest them."


	9. Home Sweet Home

**AN:** I've been tinkering with a Star Trek fanfic and I had to pull myself away from it to get this one done. I've dabbled in the Star Trek fanfic fandom for a while now but I've never written anything worthy of posting but I guess the new movie was inspiration so I might put something up of the Star Trek nature next, Spock centric of course. Honestly right now I have no idea if it should be in The Original Series category or 2009 movie… I'm not that far in yet. Just in case any of you care about that… okay…

Home Sweet Home

"Carson, buddy, come on," Rodney said through the bars of the cell as he nudged his friend with his hand as he reached through the bars. "Wake up,"

To prevent them from struggling they were all knocked unconscious, stripped of their weapons and communicators and put in their own cells. Ronon was still laying on his back in the one across from Carson, the one he had occupied earlier. Teyla was next to him, Rodney and John were on either side of Carson. As of right now Rodney was the only one awake, which worried him. He assumed Carson had fallen asleep since they had no real reason to beat him unconscious as well… at least he hoped they didn't.

Despite his pounding headache he nudged the sleeping doctor one more time only to receive a dull moan in response. "That's it, wake up." He really hated bothering Carson but he was the only one he could reach and he wasn't in the mood to yell to the others.

"Wha…?" Carson managed as he shifted his head against the bars.

"No, not 'wha'," Rodney mocked. "Wake up," really he didn't want to be awake in this place alone, how Carson managed to stand it all this time he didn't know but he would never admit to it.

"What?" he managed to mumble still with his eyes closed. He then proceeded to say a few more things that Rodney couldn't quit decipher, he wasn't even sure if they were real words.

"Carson, use your words." Rodney said carefully with his hand resting comfortingly on Carson's shoulder gripping it slightly, but not enough to cause any pain he may have been feeling. "Are you okay?"

"Five more minutes, mum."

He sighed. "I'm not your mother, Carson, I'm not your mother."

His watched as his one good eye slowly blinked open and his eyes met with the clear blue of Carson's. "Hi," he mumbled after a minute.

"Hi," Rodney returned. "You okay?"

"Oh just peachy, lad," he attempted to grin as he tried to push himself up. "Though I have ta admit I was sorta hopin' I wouldn't be wakin' up here again."

Rodney breathed out a small laugh. "You and me both buddy," he looked up to see the others still unconscious in their cells and then back down to Carson. "Why were you sleeping? Did they knock you out? Did they shoot you with something?"

He slowly shook his head. "No, lad, I find myself fallin' asleep a lot more often these days."

"Oh…" Rodney moaned. "That can't be good."

He shook his head once more. "No, its not. You're bleedin'," he said nodding to a gash on Rodney's forehead, one he didn't notice before.

He lifted his hand and touched the sore spot on his head only to see blood on his hand when he took it away. "So I am."

Carson moaned in response.

"Oh man, we need to get you back to Atlantis." He sighed taking in the many injuries his friend was sustaining, earlier he was moaning about a little headache he felt bad about that now.

"Look who's playin' doctor now." Carson said lifting his head and painfully looking around. "They got all of us… huh?"

"Seems that way," Rodney agreed.

There was a pain filled cry from the cell beside them and they both looked to see John struggling to push himself up off the ground. Rodney saw the guards had to do a bit more to subdue him, he gave them a fight.

The Colonel raised his head and opened his bloodshot eyes. "Hey," he grunted, his face was bruised and his arm was sitting at an odd angle against his stomach. "Good to see you, Doc."

"Likewise," Carson said staring at the arm. "I should take a look at that."

"No," John said getting to his knees and shuffling as close to them as he could before leaning heavily against the bars. "I'm fine; it's you I'm worried about. How are you holding up?"

"Fine."

Rodney scoffed loudly.

"So maybe not as fine as I could be," Carson gave in. "But I'm better then I was."

John leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "You're not all that convincing, Doc."

Carson smirked as best he could. "Aye, I know."

"Hello?" Came a feminine voice from the other side of the cells.

"Teyla?" John asked.

"Yes, I am here," she said touching her fingertips to her forehead.

"You okay?" Rodney wondered.

There was a pause; the men assumed she was checking herself over for any injuries. She said after a moment's hesitation. "I have a small headache and it seems I have a wound on the back of my head, my hand seems injured but not broken. I am okay. Is Carson awake?"

"Aye, lass," he answered. "I am and I have ta say, its good ta hear your voice again."

They could almost hear her relieved smile. "Likewise, Carson, I have to admit you had me worried for you. Has Ronon awakened yet?"

"Nope, and he'd better get his lazy ass up." Rodney complained. "The longer he sleeps the more…"

"Worried you get?" John continued with humor.

Rodney pouted and folded his arms across his chest. "No," he grumbled.

"He came with you," Carson sighed as he tried to sit up with the help of Rodney through the bars. "Has his sight returned? Because if it hadn't as his doctor I must say I don't like that a wee bit."

"He would not let us go without him, he was very determined to come back for you," Teyla said softly.

"So that's a no then?"

"It's been getting better," John pointed out. "He wasn't exactly giving us every update on his condition but it seemed like it was coming back."

Carson nodded and then shut his eyes. "That's good, lad."

"Hey, hey, no, don't fall asleep," Rodney scolded. "We need you awake."

"Why?" he breathed.

"So we don't have to carry you outta here."

Carson opened a questioning eye.

"Lorne and his team are out there too, they didn't get captured so they are coming back for us." John explained. "They must have noticed by now I haven't updated them on our progress."

There was an animalistic grunt beside Teyla signaling Ronon was waking up. Since he was in the middle of the cell she could not reach him to give him aid but he showed no signs of needing any. He sat up and gave his head a little shake as to clear it. "What's going on?" He asked rubbing his eyes.

"We're trapped," John began bitterly. "They took our weapons, our communicators, pretty much everything except for the clothes on our backs."

"Can ya tell me how well you can see?" Carson said squinting to see the larger man.

"None of us can see," Rodney sighed.

Ronon paused for a moment as he felt around for his weapons. After a minute he smirked although no one could see it since it was dark anyway. "Wow," he said in amusement.

"What's going on?" John asked.

"They didn't search me quiet well enough," he said standing up using the bars for support. Teyla became worried he may fall and reached out to help but he didn't take it. "I still have three knives on me -"

"So great," Rodney snapped. "You kill them we get out and get caught again. Now that we're all here this place should be guarded like the White House."

"White… house?" Teyla inquired but didn't get to continue because Ronon cut her off to continue.

Ronon pushed his dreadlocks out of the way to expose a shinning piece of equipment wrapped around his ear. "They didn't see my communicator," he smirked.

Rodney laughed out loud. "Yes! The half brained primitive, morons, I knew they would slip up."

"They must not have thought he would be carrying much since he was still suffering the side effects of their blinding drug. They must have thought us particularly foolish to have brought him." Teyla said as she stood up.

"Ha, yeah well, look who's stupid now." Rodney laughed.

"Lorne," Ronon said as he spoke over his communicator. "Lorne? Hello?"

"Oh no…" Rodney continued. "I knew it we're never getting out of here."

"We must be too far underground," John mused as he looked around. "We can't get a good signal." He said as Ronon continued to try and get a hold of their back up team. "Throw it this way, Ronon."

"That's good directions for the blind man to follow." Rodney quipped.

"Shut your mouth ya cheeky bastard," Carson finally said with his eyes shut and a wincing look permanently marking his face. Rodney refrained from saying anything more, to have Carson say that in his condition with that look on his face he really must have been annoying him.

Ronon tossed the communicator carefully across the hallway to John who caught it flawlessly. He put it around his own ear and began walking around his cell to see if he could get reception. "Wait a minute…" he said at the furthest corner. "Lorne? Lorne hello?"

"Col…l Sh…p…d?" Came a crackling voice. "Can…hear m…?"

"Lorne, we need help, I repeat we need help. We got captured by the natives. We're with Carson, over." John struggled to say since he knew his voice was getting cut off repeatedly.

"S…ry, … ca…ch tha… …ver."

"Lorne!" John cried. "We need help, I repeat, we need help! Trouble! Help!" He cried as the comm. died. "Damn," he mumbled pulling it away from his ear. "Here, McKay, see if you get anything." He tossed it to Rodney who hardly caught it gracefully.

"They must know something is wrong now," Teyla consoled. "When they did not hear from us after a while they surly must have gotten suspicious and this call had to of signaled them something is wrong."

"Lorne's smart," John said leaning against the bars to his left so he could keep a close eye on Carson. "He was probably already on his way over. He's coming."

"Yeah let's just hope he doesn't get captured too," Rodney mumbled. "I'm not getting anything over here. Teyla," he said before gently throwing it to her.

Even after all that time of trying they still did not result in getting anywhere, however at one point they found it again between the bars of Rodney and Carson's cells but it was lost only after a couple seconds. Rodney tossed it back to Teyla after that and turned his attention back down to Carson. He wished he could wander around his cell with the communicator but there was no way he was letting Carson get up. He looked like death.

"Don't be falling asleep now," Rodney said softly to Carson whose eyes were still shut.

"I'm not," Carson said with his eyes still shut. "I'm just finding it hard to open that at the moment."

"Oh no," he moaned. "Don't tell me both eyes are swollen shut now, we don't need two blind men."

Carson cracked open his good eye. "No," he replied shortly with a reassuring smile.

"Good." He said. "How's your back?" He asked noticing that he was leaning on the open sores which resulted from his horrendous treatment.

"Doesn't hurt."

"That's a lie," Rodney said folding his arms.

"Quiet," Ronon said from across the hall.

"What?" He retorted.

"Be quiet," he said again a little harsher this time to ensure he would be silent.

All that could be heard was the occasional drip of moisture from somewhere in the jail, everyone turned their heads to Ronon in a silent plea of what he heard. If it was indeed nothing then he would have told them so, but since he had gone this long without speaking it had to of been something.

"What is it, big guy?" John finally asked.

"They're coming."

Rodney panicked. "Who? Who's coming? The good guys or the bad guys?"

"I don't know."

They waited in silent anticipation as the footsteps that descended down the stairs became louder and louder. It was defiantly a group of people and they were defiantly yelling and there was gunfire, they knew it could be no one else but Lorne's team fighting. They just hoped his team was winning just because they heard gunfire didn't mean the people who were coming down to them were the ones they hoped.

Holding their breath the first person appeared before them and everyone visibly relaxed. Lorne stood before them, a little worse for wear but it was him in the flesh. He shook his head upon seeing the other team locked up and flipped up the keys he stole from one of the men.

"Honestly, I don't know why Dr. Weir sends you people on missions, your walking bad lucks charms. All of you." He said getting John out first and then moving over to Carson. "How are you, Doc? Think you're up to getting out of here?"

"Lad, I've never been more up to it." he said standing up with the help of John and soon Rodney who got released next.

"Where's the rest of your team?" John asked noticing it was only Lorne and one other man.

"I have a man guarding the doorway and two more stationed up there too in different spots, just in case we come across more trouble."

John nodded. "Okay then, let's get the hell outta here."

"Where's Irion?" Carson asked as they made their ways to the stairs.

"No clue who that is," Lorne said as they went up the stairs as quick as possible. "If he was in the room when we entered or if he came in while we fired rest assured, Doc, he's dead."

"I sincerely hope so," Carson said in a low voice unnerving everyone around him.

When they reached the top of the stairs they were met by another one of Lorne's team who was bending over a dead body they presumably had just killed. He stood up and handed them their weapons which they found in one of the storage cabinets. "We're leaving through the front," he informed the others once he was finished handing out their guns.

"Are you sure we can?" Lorne asked.

"Oh yeah, we can, these people have given up, I think you guys took out most of their guards the first time you stormed this place. There aren't many of them and the villagers aren't fighters."

As they opened the front door they saw several dead or unconscious guards outside as well as an older balding man who they immediately recognized as Irion. He had the same evil sneer displayed across his face in death. As Carson passed he wanted nothing more then to lash out and kick him in the face but he restrained himself knowing full well it would do no good to kick an already dead man. Besides, he was a Doctor, he was supposed to help people, not kick them when they're down… or dead.

"Good riddance," he heard Rodney huff as they passed.

Walking through the town was like walking through the jail to the electric chair or like walking to the front of the class after your teacher embarrassed you. The villagers stared at them, they weren't sure if it was because they just killed over half the guards or if they were with Carson how they were all now convinced was a witch.

"Doctor," came the deadpan voice of Tnuk who emerged from the group of people around him. "I truly am sorry," he began quietly approaching them so the people around him could not hear.

"Watch it," John said as he and the others readied their weapons.

"Please," Tnuk said brokenly. "I did not mean for any of it to happen, he saved my son. He did, the proof is in the healing tent. He is getting better he is now speaking to me."

"Thank him?" Rodney said exasperatedly. "This is how you thank him? Look at him, he's at deaths door and it's your fault!"

"Thanks for that, Rodney," Carson mumbled sarcastically.

"I assure you I had no say in the matter." Tnuk tried to explain. "I did not wish for anything foul to befall upon you."

"It is alright," Teyla spoke up earning a disbelieving look from everyone around her. "The matter is not important; we just would like to go home."

Tnuk looked to the ground and nodded. "Yes, please, go home. And thank you… thank you for what you did for my son." His eyes traveled in the direction of Irion. "Perhaps your appearance in our village has done more good then harm… I realized there were some among us who have betrayed the way of the Gods more then they enforced them."

"Yeah," John said ushering the others to go on. "Well, we're leaving."

Carson limped further through the village. He noticed the fearful glares people gave him and lowered his gaze to the ground focusing on walking without falling and without inflicting too much pain. He took level deep breaths as a shooting pain shot through his body. The others offered to carry him but he wouldn't allow them to do that, even if it would make their trip shorter and less painful for him.

"Hang in there, Doc," John said as they tromped through the forest. "We're almost home."


	10. What Friends Are For

**AN: **I'm going with a nice cliché for the title of this chap, its sappy right? This is gonna be a little sappy, it's the final chapter and in being the final chapter I gotta say thank you for all your reviews and support, I love all of you. I'm not sure if I have another SGA story in my head (well I have a little one but I'm not sure I have the muse to write it) we might have to wait for the movie to come out before I get proper inspiration. But until then, farewell!

What Friends Are For

The next thing Carson was aware of was that he was lying in a soft bed with the familiar sterile smell surrounding him. He knew exactly where he was, he had spent enough time here. Keeping his eyes closed he attempted to shift his position in the bed, he was lying rather comfortably but he still felt strange for some reaosn and he had intentions on fixing that.

He tried to move his leg only to find it wouldn't budge, panic swelled in his chest and he tried to open his eyes. Only one eye would obey and he looked down to the foot of the bed, he sighed in realization. He foot was in a cast and elevated by some pillows, that's why it wouldn't move, he must have some painkillers in him since the pain he felt back in the village was virtually non existent now, just a numb sort of feeling in his leg and his back and chest gave him only the slightest sting.

His vision was blurry at first, but after blinking several times clarity returned and he was able to look around the infirmary and able to confirm his thoughts that he was indeed on Atlantis. Looking to his right he saw a certain scientist with his feet propped up on Carson's bed and a laptop resting on his legs. He was so enthralled in his work he hadn't notice Carson wake up, either that or Carson wasn't moving or making as much noise as he thought he was. His eyes drifted up and he noticed there was a white bandage sitting on Rodney's head with a small red spot in the center.

Carson moved his head to the side and heard his neck crack, he winced but sighed as that was the sound he was looking for. His eyes turned back to Rodney whose expression was priceless, he wished he had a camera because something was obviously confusing and annoying him.

"Havin' a wee bit o' trouble, are ya?" Carson wondered in a hoarse voice.

Rodney jumped and looked up immediately closing his laptop and pulling his feet off the bed. "Carson, you're up. Jeez, you've been sleeping forever how are you?"

"Peachy," Carson grunted sitting up.

"Do you need help?" Rodney asked awkwardly. "Should I go get Biro?"

"No, no, 'm fine, lad. No need ta bother her," Carson answered. "So, how long have I been sleepin' for?"

"Well, you passed out on the way back to the jumper," Rodney began. "Probably for the best too, you were complaining the whole way there. We've been back for about twelve hours now, almost thirteen… we were beginning to get a little worried."

Carson's eyes lowered slightly and he gave a nod. "How's everyone else doin'?"

"Well, Ronon's vision is back, not fully though, Biro said it should be back to normal within a couple days at the rate he's been improving. He has a pair of glasses to wear in the meantime since now his vision is just blurry but he's not wearing them, of course not. John got the most stitches in his head and his arm is fractured and dislocated but it's fixed up and should be better in no time. Teyla's fine, she always is. Just a little head wound with a few stitches." Rodney explained and motioned behind him. "Everyone left for lunch; they said they'd bring me back something. You up to eating?"

Carson shook his head, he wanted to eat though he knew he would end up throwing it up. His eyes wandered to Rodney's head. "You okay?"

"Fine," he said. "A few stitches and I'm good."

Carson opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by the shrill voice of Dr. Biro as she passed by and noticed Carson was awake. "Dr. Beckett," she said stiffly. "It's good to see you awake, how long have you been up? Dr. McKay you should have alerted me the second he woke up."

Rodney looked dumbfounded. "I tried he said no!"

She peered down at Carson in a way that made him almost wish he was back off world. "You're our CMO, you should know better." She scolded.

"What's my prognosis?" Carson asked shifting in the bed.

"You'll be fine," she said aimlessly writing something down on his chart which she just picked up from the foot of his bed. "You're ankle is fractured so you'll have to be off that for a little while, a couple of the gashes on your back are infected but we're taking care of that, the burns are serious but nothing we can't take care of. You're on some heavy pain killers right now which I'm sure you've noticed. Honestly, Doctor, I'm impressed you were able to walk out of there."

"If you could call what he did walking." Rodney said with narrowed eyes. "Are we done here?"

Biro glared at Rodney. "You should be resting."

"No, I should be right where I am." He retorted.

She looked between the two and after a long sigh she must have decided she had better things to do then argue with Rodney so she gave a nod. "Fine, stay here, I'll be back later to check on you… the both of you." She finished and turned sharply on her heel to leave.

Carson looked Rodney up and down and realized he was indeed wearing scrubs and the bed next to his own was crumpled like it had been slept in. But he just assumed that was because someone, probably Rodney, spent time in the infirmary checking in on him. Since most of the time he was the one treating everybody he knew that when one of the group got landed in the infirmary with something that would keep them there for a while the others liked to watch over them in shifts. They were protective like that.

"Why are you here?" Carson wondered since it couldn't just be the cut on the head, after all everyone else had a head wound just like his. Something else had to be wrong.

Rodney looked down like he had forgotten what he was wearing. "Oh, uh, it's nothing."

Carson's eyebrow rose slightly and he sat up all the way. "Hand me your chart," he said reaching forward for it.

"No, Carson you're not supposed to be all doctory now."

"Either you give me your chart or I'll have one o' the nurses give it ta me."

Moaning loudly Rodney leaned back and grabbed his chart from the foot of his bed and tossed it onto Carson's lap mentally wincing that he wasn't more careful. He didn't know the specifics of Carson's injuries but he knew there were burns on his front, he heaved in relief when his friend didn't wince or cry out in pain.

Carson professionally held the chart and flipped the page with a furrowed brow. He sucked on the inside of his lip as he looked it over and Rodney snorted.

"Come on, don't do that, don't go all Voodoo on me."

"Rodney ya have a concussion." Carson said and glanced back down. "How long were ya havin' double vision back when we were off world?"

"Carson…"

"How long?"

"Just a little while, look…"

"Ringing in the ears, headache… Rodney this isn't a mild concussion. Did you have any nausea?"

"Is it on the chart?" Rodney asked rubbing his face, being mindful of the bandage.

"No but ya tend ta lie when I'm not around."

"I'm not lying, really, I'm fine."

Carson looked at him in disbelief but was unable to say anything more since the others came bursting through the infirmary doors, each of them carrying a tray of food in their arms. Carson winced slightly at the bandages covering each of their heads, the sling that John's arm was in causing him to have to carry his tray one handed. Ronon was indeed not wearing the glasses, Biro should have known better to even bother getting him a pair. He still looked slightly cross eyed and unfocused but he was walking without help and looking at things so he knew he would be just fine.

"Hey!" John said putting his tray down on the nearest table. "Sleeping Beauty is awake. How you feeling, Doc?"

"I'm fine."

"He's just pumped with pain killers." Rodney said. "He's really not."

"As long as he's conscious," John said sitting down in a nearby chair and pulling it up to the bed side. "You were scaring us for a while there."

"Well I didn't mean ta." Carson said cracking a small smile.

"Hey, who has my food?" Rodney asked looking around.

"Here," Ronon grunted handing him a plate and sitting down next to John.

"Oh great," Rodney moaned taking the plate from him and looking at the food he had requested. "Make the blind guy carry it…"

Ronon grunted in response and began picking at his food. "I can see fine," re replied after a minute. Though it was clear he couldn't, what looked like picking at his food was really him deciphering what was what and what was where.

"This is for you, Carson," Teyla said taking a Styrofoam cup with a plastic top off her tray along with a spoon.

"How'd ya know I'd be awake?" He wondered taking the hot cup of soup gratefully.

"We have been bringing you a cup for every meal, just in case you regained consciousness. We thought perhaps you would be hungry when you awoke." She explained.

"You were right," Carson nodded pulling the top off of the cup of coup, truthfully he wanted something heavier but he knew that his stomach wouldn't be able to handle it and apparently his friends knew it too. He dipped his spoon in the soup when he realized no one around him was talking and he was center of attention.

"What?" He asked.

Immediately the men dropped their gazes and began eating their own food, Teyla was the only one who smiled and answered him. "It is just wonderful to have you back, Carson, in one whole piece."

"It's because of you I'm back here anyway. I'm glad ya came." He said quietly not about to admit that for a while he doubted he was going to live to see Atlantis again.

Ronon looked up. "Of course we came."

"You couldn't possibly think we wouldn't," John said shaking his head.

"No, I didn't think that just… I'm glad."

"Oh come on," Rodney said giving him a very light smack on the shoulder in fear of causing him pain if he hit any harder. "That's what friends are for. Sure maybe back on Earth normal friends don't infiltrate too many crazy native tribes to save their friends from torture and execution but that's what makes us special."


End file.
